Blunt force trauma from the Boks will probably be enough to subdue the Samoans, but all eyes will be on Brisbane for that first Lions Test … All the weekend teams, times and predictions.
Tank Lanning
A little warm up for the real Lions by taking in the pretenders against Butch James and his ring rusty Sharks at a seedy pub after work on Friday evening, bacon and cheese toast with the family on Saturday morning to earn your complete disappearance for the rest of the day as you take in the All Black demolition of France while burping up said bacon and cheese on a gym bike, the Aussies hosting the Lions in a cracker at a pub that serves ice cold draught with your eisbein, half an eye on the ultra boring Italy vs Scotland game with beer in hand while the fire burns down, oepsies and chicken wings from the braai as you discuss Heyneke’s refusal to build tighthead depth in South Africa, then the Bok blunt force trauma vs Samoa with your feet on a coolerbox while the shoulder of lamb sits in the Weber for post rugby analysis …
Friday 21 June
19h10: Lions vs Sharks, Ellis Park
The Lions, promised some much needed game time against decent opposition by SARU as they build toward the controversial Super Rugby promotion / relegation game against the Kings, were bitter about the Stormers fixture being downgraded to a young WP side last week, and duly blew them away. This week, however, they get their wish in the form of a Sharks side boasting the likes of Riaan Viljoen, Odwa Ndungane, Louis Ludik, Charl McLeod, Jean Deysel, and Keegan Daniel. And with young Wiehahn Herbst looking to prove Bok coach Heyneke Meyer’s selection of Lourens Adriaanse ahead of him wrong, his battle with the massively powerful JC Janse van Rensburg will be a goodie. The Lions side, with the likes of CJ van der Linde, Michael Bondesio, and Dylan des Fountain on the bench, let alone the run on XV, looks competent, if not stellar. They will be more than solid up front, do the basics right, and look to Marnitz Boshoff to control the game. Opposite him will be the never say retire, no matter how many knee operations they send his way, Butch James, and the result may well hinge on how much rust now sits on those joints. I am going to back the wily old fox.
My prediction: Sharks by 6
Lions: 15. Chrysander Botha, 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Stokkies Hanekom, 12. Alwyn Hollenbach, 11. Anthony Volmink, 10. Marnitz Boshoff, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Willie Britz, 7. Derick Minnie, 6. Warwick Tecklenburg, 5. Hugo Kloppers, 4. Hendrik Roodt, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Francois du Toit, 1. JC Janse van Rensburg (captain)
Bench: 16. Robbie Coetzee, 17. CJ van der Linde, 18. Gavin Annandale, 19. Lambert Groenewald, 20. Michael Bondesio, 21. Dylan des Fountain, 22. Deon van Rensburg
Sharks: 15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Louis Ludik, 12. Heimar Williams, 11. Sean Robinson, 10. Butch James, 9. Charl McLeod, 8. Tera Mtembu, 7. Jean Deysel, 6. Keegan Daniel (captain), 5. Jandre Marais, 4. Edwin Hewitt, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 2. Kyle Cooper, 1. Dale Chadwick
Bench: 16. Monde Hadebe, 17. Allan Dell, 18. Brynard Stander, 19. Khaya Majola, 20. Cobus Reinach, 21. Fred Zeilinga, 22. Tyler Fisher
Saturday 22 June
09:35 New Zealand vs France, New Plymouth
Last week saw the All Blacks at their very best as they fired their way to a 30-0 drubbing of the French that takes their overall record between the 2 sides to played 53, won 40, lost 12 and drawn 1, and I do not see that trend changing much in New Plymouth this weekend, especially with the legend that is Dan Carter back at the helm. Ma’a Nonu might hack at Super Rugby level, but right at the top, he can kick, pass and cut the line with the best of them. What was also impressive about the All Black performance last week, was their defence. Patiently able to absorb wave after wave of French attack, the mistake inevitably came, and the All Blacks were able to pounce, twice scoring majestic tries from over 80 metres out, showcasing their incredible offloading in the tackle, and silky passing skills. Also, Kieran Read is in a class of his own at 8th man. France have made eight changes this week, 2 of which are injury-enforced, with flyhalf Frederic Michalak (dislocated shoulder) and No 8 Louis Picamoles (hip contusion) ruled out. They are replaced by Remi Tales and South Africa-born Antonie Claassen, meaning they are having to use their third flyhalf in as many games. Beware the injured cockerel they say, but not this time …
My prediction: All Blacks by 22
New Zealand: 15. Israel Dagg, 14. Ben Smith, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ma’a Nonu, 11. Rene Ranger, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Piri Weepu, 8. Kieran Read (captain), 7. Sam Cane, 6. Victor Vito, 5. Samuel Whitelock, 4. Luke Romano, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Andrew Hore, 1. Wyatt Crockett.
Bench: 16. Keven Mealamu, 17.Tony Woodcock, 18. Ben Franks, 19. Steven Luatua, 20. Matt Todd, 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22. Beauden Barrett, 23. Charles Piutau.
France: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Remi Tales, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Damien Chouly, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Subs: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.
12:00 Australia vs British and Irish Lions, Lang Park, Brisbane
And after more warm up games than you can shake a stick at, we eventually get to see what all the fuss is about – the first of a three match Test series down under. Whether the midweek loss to the Brumbies will serve as a wakeup call or a confidence denter for the Lions remains to be seen, but it really was a makeshift Lions side that included a left field call up of Shane Williams, so perhaps not too much can be read into it. The Lions, though, have lost plenty players to injury, and that will be a factor. It’s 15-5 to the Lions out of the 20 games played between the 2 sides, with an average 7 point difference, but with tours only happening every 12 years, not much can be read into those stats, bar the fact that the score is unlikely to blow out. Robbie Deans has gone with Israel Folau on the wing, and James O’Connor at flyhalf, which suggests a more attacking approach. A learning from the Brumbies win, though, which was about territory and defence, as is Jake White’s way, might suggest the more prudent selection to have been Berrick Barnes at flyhalf, instead of fullback, and O’Connor at the back. This series will be decided up front via the scrum and lineout, the battle of the breakdown, and which flyhalf dominates the game. The Lions have gone with Adam Jones instead of Dan Cole at tighthead, Sam Warburton as the open sider, perhaps influenced by his status as tour captain, and Johnny Sexton at flyhalf, despite being able to call on Jonny Wilkinson. The Aussies have a pack that can now actually scrum thanks to the Waratahs, and one of the best open siders in the game in Michael Hooper, so I think the Aussies will shade all the vital battles.
My prediction: Australia by 5
Australia: 15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Israel Folau, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Leali’ifano, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Ben Mowen, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson
Bench: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Pat McCabe, 23 Kurtley Beale
British and Irish Lions: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Brian O’Driscoll, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 George North, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Alex Corbisiero
Bench: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Sean Maitland
14:15 Scotland vs Italy, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Perhaps the most tricky to call, but if the Scots bring the passion and guts that they brought to Mbombela last Saturday, to Loftus this weekend, then they should have far too much in hand for the Italians, who seem happy to treat the sojourn to South Africa as more of an end of season wind down. But it does pit two Six Nations sides against each other, so perhaps that will fire the Italians up?
My prediction: Scotland by 9
Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Leandro Cedaro, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matias Aguero
Bench: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Alessandro Zanni, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Gonzalo Canale, 23 Luke McLean
Scotland: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Dave Denton, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Bench: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Moray Low, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Rob Harley, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Tim Visser
17:15 South Africa vs Samoa, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Heyneke Meyer seems to be taking the Samoans very seriously indeed, having given Jean de Villiers and Willem Alberts until Friday to prove their fitness for the game. Expect the Boks to have learnt from their slow start last week against the Scots, and to come out breathing fire on Saturday. With Flip van der Merwe and Eben Etzebeth as the locks, and Alberts and Francois Louw in the loose trio, we are likely to see an industrial flat head hammer as the preferred weapon of choice.
My prediction: Springboks by 9
South Africa: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Bryan Habana, 13. JJ Engelbrecht, 12. Jean de Villiers (captain) / Jan Serfontein, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Morné Steyn, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Pierre Spies, 7. Willem Alberts / Siya Kolisi, 6. Francois Louw, 5. Flip van der Merwe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Adriaan Strauss, 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Bench: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Coenie Oosthuizen, 19. Juandre Kruger, 20. Siya Kolisi / Marcell Coetzee, 21. Piet van Zyl, 22. Pat Lambie, 23. Jan Serfontein / Juan de Jongh
Samoa: 15. James So’oialo, 14. Alapati Leiua, 13. Paul Williams (captain), 12. John Leota, 11. Alesana Tuilagi, 10. Tusiata Pisi, 9. Jeremy Sua, 8. Taiasina Tuifua, 7. Jack Lam, 6. Ofisa Treviranus, 5. Daniel Leo, 4. Teofilo Paulo, 3. Census Johnston, 2. Wayne Ole Avei, 1. Sakaria Taulafo
Bench: 16. Ti’i Paulo, 17. Logovii Mulipola, 18. James Johnston, 19. Kane Thompson, 20. Junior Poluleuligaga, 21. Brando Vaaulu, 22. Seilala Mapusua, 23. Alafoti Faosiliva