Share

Lions' biggest chance yet

Pieter Jordaan

Johannesburg - The Lions may not yet be good enough to beat the best teams in the Super Rugby tournament, but Saturday's match against the Chiefs here at Coca-Cola Park is probably one of their best chances of notching a victory.

While the Lions are at the bottom of the South African conference, the same applies to the Chiefs in the New Zealand group.

The Chiefs have won only two of their eight games this year. They last won a month ago when they knocked over the Sharks in Hamilton.

What the Chiefs do have is a bunch of dangerous backline players than are able to rip defences to shreds when they are in the mood.

Matches between the Lions and Chiefs usually serve up a try-fest.

Not much has been seen of that this year - and even the Lions' 16 tries in the tournament is more than the Chiefs' 15.

However, not many people will forget the Chiefs' approach in beating the Lions at Coca-Cola Park last year. They attacked from everywhere and were prepared to concede tries as they simply believed they would score more.

The result was a Chiefs victory of 72-65, with the visitors having scored nine tries. Even so, the Kiwi side got a big fright as the Lions scored nine tries in a game they at one stage trailed 25-65.

It will be interesting to see whether Chiefs coach Ian Foster embarks on a similar route for Saturday's game as unpredictability and attacking rugby are his team's strengths.

The Chiefs may well find the going tough if they try to take the Lions on up front.

The Chiefs' forwards came off second best in their last game against the Crusaders. By contrast, the Lions made life difficult for the Stormers.

There was a setback for the visitors on Tuesday when former All Black centre Tana Umaga had to return to New Zealand after injuring a calf muscle in training.

Dwayne Sweeney and Richard Kahui were favoured to be the centre pairing against the Lions. Kahui put in some big tackles against the Crusaders last week. He also scored a hat-trick of tries in last year's match against the Lions.

As far as the Lions are concerned, Lionel Mapoe (wing), André Pretorius (centre) and Josh Strauss (flank) should have recovered sufficiently from their injuries to be considered.

Fullback Jaco Taute and prop Jacobie Adriaanse are still struggling with light injuries.

Lions coach John Mitchell will not be keen to make too many changes to a side that performed well against the Stormers. They certainly showed a lot more desire on defence than the Lions team that conceded 72 points against the Chiefs last year.
 
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1272 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1469 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2240 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE