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Individual stats suggest Lions have a chance

Cape Town - The Lions are clear underdogs ahead of Saturday's Super Rugby final against the Crusaders in Christchurch, with their record against the defending champions telling its own story. 

READ: 10 'Did you know?' Super Rugby final stats

The Crusaders, who have never lost to the Lions in Christchurch, have lost just 2 matches all season while the Lions have lost 7

Still, a look at a few statistics suggests that the Lions have enough firepower to fancy their chances, especially among the forwards. 

Malcolm Marx and Franco Mostert, in particular, have had impressive individual seasons. 

According to sports statisticians Opta, Mostert has made more tackles (214) than any other player in Super Rugby this year. 

Kwagga Smith's 164 tackles, meanwhile, puts him ninth on that list. 

Mostert also leads the way in terms of lineout wins, where he has won 98 throws (including steals) ahead of Guido Petti Pagadizábal of the Jaguares (72)

Marx, meanwhile, has found his target with 90% of his lineout throws this season, more than anybody else, including Crusaders hooker Codie Taylor (87%)

Marx has also been a try-scoring machine for the Lions, crossing the whitewash a staggering 11 times in the 15 matches he has played. 

That is only good enough to put Marx fourth on the season list, though, with the Hurricanes' Ben Lam leading the way with 16

Crusaders wing George Bridge, meanwhile, has 15 tries in 2018. 

In the backline, Lions fullback Andries Coetzee finds himself featuring prominently on the individual statistics charts. 

The 28-year-old has made more carries (181) than anybody else involved in Saturday's final and lies fourth on that overall list while he has also beaten more defenders (65) than anyone playing in the final. He is sixth overall on that list. 

Coetzee is also ninth when it comes to overall metres made with 1 020, with no South African ranked higher. 

Kick-off on Saturday is at 09:35 (SA time). 

Teams:

Crusaders

15 David Havili, 14 Seta Tamanivalu, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, 5 Sam Whitelock (captain), 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody

Substitutes: 16 Sam Anderson-Heather, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Braydon Ennor

Lions

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrink, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen

Substitutes: 16 Corne Fourie, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 23 Howard Mnisi

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