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Cape Town - The Hurricanes will get the better of the Lions in a tightly contested Super Rugby final, if local bookmakers are to be believed.
As was the trend in recent seasons, the competition will have a first-time winner in Wellington on Saturday.
The Reds won for the first time in 2011, followed by the Chiefs in 2012, before the Waratahs (2014) and Highlanders (2015) also won the competition for the first time.
Lions rugby fans will be quick to remind that the old Transvaal won the Super 10 in 1993, but records from that competition are not calculated by governing body SANZAAR, which was only formed in 1996 when the first Super 12 kicked off.
The Hurricanes thumped the Lions 50-17 at Ellis Park earlier in the season and according to local bookmakers, Sportingbet.co.za, the ‘Canes will win by 7 points this weekend.
The Lions also have a bleak record against the men from New Zealand’s capital, having only won one match in 10 encounters over the years (see head-to-head record below).
Kick-off for Saturday's clash is scheduled for 09:35 (SA time).
Teams:
Hurricanes
15 James Marshall, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Woodward, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Ben May, 2 Dane Coles (captain)/Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Loni Uhila
Substitutes: 16 Ricky Riccitelli/Leni Apisai, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Mike Kainga/Reggie Goodes, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Callum Gibbins/Tony Lambourn, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Vince Aso, 23 Julian Savea
Lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5, Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylon Smith
Substitutes: 16 Armand ‘Akker’ van der Merwe, 17 Corner Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Jaco van der Walt
Hurricanes v Lions Super Rugby head-to-head (home team first):
1996: Hurricanes 32-16 Transvaal
1997: Gauteng Lions 35-37 Hurricanes
2007: Lions 30-7 Hurricanes
2008: Hurricanes 38-12 Lions
2009: Lions 32-38 Hurricanes
2010: Hurricanes 33-18 Lions
2011: Hurricanes 38-27 Lions
2012: Lions 28-30 Hurricanes
2015: Lions 8-22 Hurricanes
2016: Lions 17-50 Hurricanes
Notes: Matches between 1998 and 2006 are not taken into consideration by SANZAAR as the Lions were part of the Cats franchise.
In 2006, the Lions were still called the Cats, despite the Cheetahs participating on their own in the competition. For the record, the Hurricanes beat the Cats 29-16 in Wellington that year.
The Lions were called Transvaal in 1996 and Gauteng Lions in 1997.
