[2017 Super Rugby] Round 1: Cheetahs vs. Lions (25/02/2017)

[TRF_heineken]

Venue: Toyota Stadium
Time: 15:05 (CAT, GMT+2)​

Teams

Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld (captain), 1 Charles Marais

Substitutes: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Ox Nche, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Ryno Benjamin

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen

Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Harold Vorster, 23 Jaco van der Walt

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

It'll be interesting to see if Super Rugby teams have learnt that Faf and Jantjies are very ordinary tactical kickers. I think Ackerman will have the Lions firing on all cylinders again though.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Well, It's the Undefeated Currie Cup Champions vs. the Super Rugby finalists of 2016. Franco Smith did a lot of good work with the Cheetahs last year, and has managed to keep most of his Currie Cup Stock on hand for the Super Rugby tournament.

I think this will be a close game, but I think the Lions might just make it out on top.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

have faf and elton had their weekly meeting where they decide which version of themselves is going to show up?

 

[SomeOke]

have faf and elton had their weekly meeting where they decide which version of themselves is going to show up?

The trick with Faf and Elton is to not get them to play a game of rugby they aren't comfortable with.

I'm sure Ackerman knows how to get the most of them - unlike Allister Coetzee.

As for the Cheetahs I'm a lot more skeptical than most, the team with the least Springboks usually has it easy in the Currie Cup.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

The Cheetahs won't be push overs this year (relatively speaking) and could push the Bulls and Stormers for top of SA '1'. they are now where the Lions were 3 years ago. In fact I fully expect the Stormers to lie 3rd on the SA '1' conference table at the end of the season T_T

We have a few more 'names' than the Cheetahs specifically and if we turn up we can beat anybody on the day but don't have the consistency or play with the sense of identity our other in-conference opponents do.

 

[SomeOke]

Everyone's been saying that but I'll believe it when it happens. Cheetahs turn incredibly porous come Super Rugby, I hope to be proven wrong.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Everyone's been saying that but I'll believe it when it happens. Cheetahs turn incredibly porous come Super Rugby, I hope to be proven wrong.

True enough but Smith did say that defense was their weak spot at the end of last year so at least they are aware of the issue and the D and their commitment was unrecognizable in the CC even if CC is a (unfortunately huge) step down from SR.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

The trick with Faf and Elton is to not get them to play a game of rugby they aren't comfortable with.

I'm sure Ackerman knows how to get the most of them - unlike Allister Coetzee.

As for the Cheetahs I'm a lot more skeptical than most, the team with the least Springboks usually has it easy in the Currie Cup.

Watching them in the internationals gave me the feeling that they really didn't like playing for AC. The whole team looked lost but those two just didn't know what to do.

They know Ackerman's plans and also respect him as a coach, which I doubt they do with AC.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I'm with SomeOke here.
Didn't the cheetah's knocked out the Lions from the CC? Think the lions will tear them a new one.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Damn, the Lions will field their best team, while the Cheetahs won't have the luxury of fielding their captain and star centre...

Lions look a lot stronger on paper...

- - - Updated - - -

Damn, the Lions will field their best team, while the Cheetahs won't have the luxury of fielding their captain and star centre...

Lions look a lot stronger on paper...

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Not sure whether this is good or bad for us.

 

[TRF_heineken]

A very entertaining game to watch, bit of a see-saw battle.

The Cheetahs was certainly impressive with their new youngsters.

And the Lions, well, their Japanese contract players were their achilles heel, very average performances from them. Also why play the best inside centre in SA on wing???

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

The Lions were off their game but I still say the Cheetahs will claim a few scalps in Bloem like the old days. I guess they could've/should've claimed their first scalp here but for a little bit of inexperience. That'll come though (assuming they manage to retain players for more than 2 years- huge assumption on my part).

 

[Jaguares]

Why the hell both teams wore almost the same kit? Red jerseys and black shorts vs Orange jerseys and black shorts. Who is managing that kind of silly decisions?

Ok, both home jerseys are similar so team B has to wear their away jersey. It's not rocket science, it's simple. It was an eye pain to watch the game from a neutral perspective.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Why the hell both teams wore almost the same kit? Red jerseys and black shorts vs Orange jerseys and black shorts. Who is managing that kind of silly decisions?

Ok, both home jerseys are similar so team B has to wear their away jersey. It's not rocket science, it's simple. It was an eye pain to watch the game from a neutral perspective.

Wut?

Did you have trouble distinguishing between them on the field???

Their kits didn't clash at all... And since when is it a problem for teams having the same colour shorts???

 

[Jaguares]

Yeah, it was a pain in my eyes. Do the Cheetahs have supporters?? Where are they? First round of the year, they are still in the race so far, no excuses

 

[TRF_heineken]

Yeah, it was a pain in my eyes. Do the Cheetahs have supporters?? Where are they? First round of the year, they are still in the race so far, no excuses

They stayed away probably because of the torrential downpour they had just before kick-off. Apparently some of the roads close to the stadium were closed off due to flooding.

If this game was played in Joburg this past weekend, the field would have been a mudbath.

 

[Jaguares]

They stayed away probably because of the torrential downpour they had just before kick-off. Apparently some of the roads close to the stadium were closed off due to flooding.

If this game was played in Joburg this past weekend, the field would have been a mudbath.

Apparently there are floodings before every Cheetahs game because I've never seen a big crowd there