34 Responses to Lions Challenge: MTN Lions vs DHL Western Province XV – Live Game Article

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  31

  grootblousmile on 14 June 2013 at 8:53 pm

  Forward pass, game over.

  Final Score: MTN Golden Lions 42 / 12 DHL Western Province XV
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  32

  grootblousmile on 14 June 2013 at 8:54 pm

  OK, I’m outa here!
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  33

  superBul on 15 June 2013 at 3:45 am

  Super Rugby’s Team of the Season (after 17 rounds)

  By SANZAR Communications

  After 17 rounds of competition in 2013 Super Rugby, SANZAR and Opta Statistics brings you the team of the season so far.

  15: Charles Piutau – The competition’s top metre-maker with 1223 gained so far

  14: Julian Savea – Only two other wingers (Digby Ioane and Hosea Gear) have beaten more defenders than Savea (37) this season

  13: Rene Ranger – Only Piutau (22) has made more clean breaks than Ranger (21) this season

  12: Bundee Aki – Just two other centres have made more clean breaks than Aki (11) this term

  11: Digby Ioane – On average, has beaten 5.4 defenders per game this year, more than anybody else in Super Rugby

  10: Quade Cooper – His 51 offloads is a Super Rugby high this year, 15 more than anybody else

  9: Will Genia – Has seven try assists this year, ranking joint-third overall behind Bernard Foley and Aaron Cruden

  8: Cornell Du Preez – Has won 30 lineouts, made 136 tackles and scored three tries for the Kings this season

  7: Luke Braid – Has made 26 offloads so far, the most for a forward and the third-highest total overall

  6: Pieter Labuschagne – The top tackler this season with 212 hits so far, 28 more than anybody else

  5: Andries Bekker – Only three others have won more lineouts than Bekker this year (52)

  4: Luke Romano – Only one other lock has beaten more defenders than Romano this season (11)

  3: James Slipper – Schalk Ferreira (139) is the only prop to make more tackles than Slipper (132) this year

  2: Deon Fourie –Kyle Cooper (19) is the only hooker to have beaten more defenders than Fourie this season (17)

  1: Pauliasi Manu – His average of 17 metres gained per game is higher than any other prop in the competition
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  34

  superBul on 15 June 2013 at 4:16 am

  Sharks get ready to resume Super Rugby action
  at Least the Lions might face a stronger team next

  The Sharks returned this week from a short break to prepare for the friendly match they will play against the Lions on Friday 21st June at Ellis Park, before getting back into the Super Rugby tournament.

  “We’ve had two weeks off and started again on Monday with our preparations which gives us this week to run out and get back on our feet and gets some hard work in,” explains Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford. “Then next week we can focus on setting the detail for the Lions’ preparation. “It’s nice to have this Lions game, because we wouldn’t have played for four weeks when that match comes up.”

  The squad to play that match will be made of injured Sharks players who are now returning to action as well as those from the full training squad. “There is a whole core of players who didn’t play in the last game against the Bulls because they were injured, so we’ll be assessing them this week and seeing how they are, whether or not they’ll be fit for the Lions’ game and obviously depending on that, we’ll be able to work out who’s going to be available to play,” Bashford continues.

  “The players with the Boks will be out as well so we’ll find other players to fill in for them, but hopefully a lot of our injured players should be back. We’re aware that not everyone will be back, but certainly some will come back into selection reckoning.”

  With the Blues game in mind the following week (at Growthpoint KINGS PARK on Saturday 29 June), the team to play the Lions should be a competitive one, taking cogniscance of the long break that many players will have had between games and the need for match fitness.

  “The Boks will have had lots of rugby, they won’t be a concern, so it’s getting the guys coming back from injury up to speed and obviously the guys that haven’t played much at all. It’s really about getting together and working out who will be available for selection and then using this game as a good run-in to that Blues game.

  “We still have three tough games in the Super Rugby pool stages to go – the Blues, Bulls and Kings – and we want to finish this tournament on a high.”

  A frustrating season that held so much promise at the start of the year has been severely derailed by serious injuries this year. Almost an entire starting line-up has had to undergo surgery for a litany of grave injuries that were due more to misfortune than anything else and which would almost all be lumped into the ‘bad luck’ category.

  The coaches however, are loathe to point to injuries and use them as an excuse. But when first choice players are injured and new, enforced combinations are selected on a weekly basis, it does have a severe impact on building crucial continuity and momentum.

  “It’s just been an unlucky year for us in terms of injuries,” he admits, “but I think people are tired of hearing about that. It’s been tough, but the reality is that it happened and we can’t do anything about it. But who knows, if the stars are all aligned and we get five points in each of our remaining games, we could be going into a play-off with a really fit squad that hasn’t had much rugby. That’s up to us now, that’s our challenge going forward and hopefully we play really well in our last three pool games and finish off in style what has been a really unlucky and disappointing campaign.