South Africa v British & Irish Lions, 31 July

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SOUTH AFRICA v BRITISH & IRISH LIONS
Saturday 31 July
KO: 18:00 SAST / 17:00 UK / 20:00 Dubai  
Cape Town Stadium (Newlands), Cape Town
Sky Sports Main Event

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO: Marius Jonker ( )

TEAMS:

SOUTH AFRICA:
15 – Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz) – 63 caps, 60 pts (12t)
14 – Cheslin Kolbe (Toulouse) – 15 caps, 40 pts (8t)
13 – Lukhanyo Am (Cell C Sharks) – 16 caps, 15 pts (3t)
12 – Damian de Allende (Munster) – 48 caps, 30 pts (6t)
11 – Makazole Mapimpi (Cell C Sharks) – 15 caps, 70 pts (14t)
10 – Handré Pollard (vice-captain, Montpellier) – 50 caps, 477pts (6t, 78c, 93p, 4d)
09 – Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks) – 31 caps, 25 pts (5t)

08 – Jasper Wiese (Leicester Tigers) – 1 cap, 0 pts
07 – Pieter-Steph du Toit (DHL Stormers) – 57 caps, 25 pts (5t)
06 – Siya Kolisi (captain, Cell C Sharks) – 52 caps, 30 pts (6t)
05 – Franco Mostert (Honda Heat) – 41 caps, 5pts (1t)
04 – Eben Etzebeth (Toulon) – 87 caps, 15 pts (3t)
03 – Frans Malherbe (DHL Stormers) – 40 caps, 5pts (1t)
02 – Bongi Mbonambi (DHL Stormers) – 38 caps, 40 pts (8t)
01 – Steven Kitshoff (DHL Stormers) – 49 caps, 5pts (1t)

16 – Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears) – 35 caps, 30 pts (6t)
17 – Trevor Nyakane (Vodacom Bulls) – 44 caps, 5 pts (1t)
18 – Vincent Koch (Saracens) – 21 caps, 0 pts
19 – Lood de Jager (Sale Sharks) – 46 caps, 25 pts (5t)
20 – Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls) – 3 caps, 0 pts
21 – Kwagga Smith (Yamaha Júbilo) – 8 caps, 5 pts (1t)
22 – Herschel Jantjies (DHL Stormers) – 12 caps, 25 pts (5t)
23 – Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers) – 8 caps, 5pts (1t)

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS:
15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) #783
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844
12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #824
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #841
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821
09. Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790

01. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851
03. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #818
04. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825
05. Alun Wyn Jones – captain (Ospreys, Wales) #761
06. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) #826
07. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853
08. Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839

16. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829
17. Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #840
18. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814
19. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838
20. Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779
21. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #843
22. Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) #780
23. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

PREVIEW:

I had posted this on the other thread..

On the training front;

Biggar may be cleared to train from Thursday.

Dancer is being put through his paces today (Monday) to see if he's in contention for a place.

NoArms is apparently fit as nothing has been said.

The team is being selected Monday tonight. The players will be told by this morning at the latest. Can they say to Biggar that he's starting but not training till Thursday? Can they tell Dancer he's starting if Biggar fails the HIA protocols? Will NoArms be on the bench same as last week?

Toonie tells the story of playing club rugby in SA. They were running everything off 9 and at half time they were losing, he said "Skipper, this isn't working we need to play off 10 and get some width!" . The reply was "No Griiggurrr We just need to keep running off 9 and run harder." I feel that will be the Boks attitude towards Saturday. They could have won and if they keep doing what they're best at but put more effort in it'll all work out.
Gats, and Toonie, seem to have decided that moving the ball away from the breakdown quickly and kicking creatively (and smartly) is the way to avoid an arm wrestle. Toonie also mentioned, in relation to replacements, that it's easier to take the pace OUT of the game than put some IN with replacements. Hence Murray and NoArms benching last time.

So...I think Biggar/Dancer to start and NoArms on the bench.

I'd go with Dancer. Every time.

My guess
1.Sutherland
2. Sherriff
3. Furlong (one of the stars of the tour)
4. AWJ (should cement his place alongside Willie John and Martin Johnson as a great Lions' captain)
5. Itoje (see Furlong)
6. Beirne (Lawes to bench)
7. Hamish Fae The Glen (his disciple was slightly better than Curry's/indiscipline not quite so bad)
8. Conan
9. Aldi Price
10. Dancer (If Biggar starts and gets a head knock then were Friar Tucked and struggling for a starter next week. Strangely, starting Dancer is actually the conservative choice;gets him game time in case he has to start in the deciding third test adn keeps Biggar fresh for next week)
11. Watson.
12 Henshaw
13 Harris
14 VDM
15 Hogg

16. George
17. Mako
18. Fagerson ( just cos I like him)
19. Beard
20. Lawes
21 Murray
22. NoArms
23 Sanjay

My guess is that Gatland will put Russell in at 10. Why you all say? Biggar won’t have trained this week and Farrell hasn’t been his old self since relegation, his confidence in managing play and positional kicking looks off. Biggar to bench incase Finn is impacted by the Achilles / having a restrained day in the office. Harris will come on for Daly who will bench. Nothing else will change, after all they beat the world champions with the team they picked and without everyone playing their best game. We’ll see in 40mins if the rumour about MV starting is right also, I don’t think it matters too much as both  front row units will see plenty of work.

It would be a very big leap to give Russell a start. Depends what role everyone has chosen to play in training. Farrell played pretty well when he came on last weekend.

Then again, it's the Alun Wyn Jones injury conundrum. If you play someone who is nursing an injury, then they really have to start as you have to be able to depend on the fitness of your bench.

A few changes then.

HArris in for Daly, who is on the bench. Murray in, Vunipola in. Faletau in for Watson who is completely dropped.

All of those changes suggest that Gatland knows this is going to be another slugfest and he's gone for a bigger, more territory driven team at the expense of a bit of attacking flair.

Given how game 1 went, probably fair!

I said early in the tour I'd love to see that midfield trio - not ideal that it's first happened in a test..

SOUTH AFRICA v THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) #783

14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816

13. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844

12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #824

11. Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #841

10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821

9. Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790

1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787

2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851

3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #818

4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825

5. Alun Wyn Jones – captain (Ospreys, Wales) #761

6. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) #826

7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853

8. Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839

Replacements:

16. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829

17. Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #840

18. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814

19. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838

20. Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779

21. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #843

22. Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) #780

23. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

Saturday 31 July 2021

No 7&1/2 wrote:HArris in for Daly, who is on the bench. Murray in, Vunipola in. Faletau in for Watson who is completely dropped.

Pretty harsh on Watson but I suppose you need to use your squad. The other changes are probably fair enough.

RDW wrote:All of those changes suggest that Gatland knows this is going to be another slugfest and he's gone for a bigger, more territory driven team at the expense of a bit of attacking flair.

Given how game 1 went, probably fair!

I said early in the tour I'd love to see that midfield trio - not ideal that it's first happened in a test..

To be fair to Gatland the Lions did try to run the ball more than SA who kicked more overall than the Lions. However, the Lions had more success when they kicked more in the 2nd half.

I do worry about Vunipola, 1 swallow doesn't make a summer scrum wise. No out and out lock cover on the bench, but I suppose when Beirne comes on we'll see Lawes move there. Perhaps Jones will be more prominent this time around. The big question for me though is that back row cover, you've picked 2 but no real cover for openside; should Curry go off after 5 mins a back row of Lawes, Conon and either of Beirne or Faletau is a touch cumbersome.

Understandable changes. Am expecting a big game from Faletau who has been quiet by his standards in the run-up to this.

I don't want to hex the feller, but I can't help but feel Harris could be the missing piece of the puzzle in our backline. Great defence, calm head, non-reactionary and a fantastic distributor.

No 7&1/2 wrote:I do worry about Vunipola, 1 swallow doesn't make a summer scrum wise. No out and out lock cover on the bench, but I suppose when Beirne comes on we'll see Lawes move there. Perhaps Jones will be more prominent this time around. The big question for me though is that back row cover, you've picked 2 but no real cover for openside; should Curry go off after 5 mins a  back row of Lawes, Conon and either of Beirne or Faletau is a touch cumbersome.

Not as strong as linkmen but all very good ball carriers.

So disappointed for Josh Adams.

H Watson was shown up by the SA, why did people miss that?

No surprise he is dropped.

TightHEAD wrote:H Watson was shown up by the SA, why did people miss that?

No surprise he is dropped.

you keep saying that, but most experts disagree, but you seem to miss that

George Carlin wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:I do worry about Vunipola, 1 swallow doesn't make a summer scrum wise. No out and out lock cover on the bench, but I suppose when Beirne comes on we'll see Lawes move there. Perhaps Jones will be more prominent this time around. The big question for me though is that back row cover, you've picked 2 but no real cover for openside; should Curry go off after 5 mins a  back row of Lawes, Conon and either of Beirne or Faletau is a touch cumbersome.

Not as strong as linkmen but all very good ball carriers.

If SA were to start playing wider it would leave the Lions pack exposed as minus Curry there's not a lot of pace there. Unlikely given the first test offering though Rassie is no fool so having a back up tactic to bring out would make things interesting. The Boks looked very dangerous when they did go wide, hopefully Harris shores up that 13 channel. It was the SA wingers who got the tries in the RWC final as well.

R!skysports wrote:

TightHEAD wrote:H Watson was shown up by the SA, why did people miss that?

No surprise he is dropped.

you keep saying that, but most experts disagree, but you seem to miss that

Looks like Gatland agrees, did you miss that!

That's a good team, and I can see why the changes have been made.

It was obvious that going wide from the off didn't work last weekend, and so bringing in Murray from the start to control the game and then have Price coming on to raise the pace makes sense.

Mako played very well on the weekend, he deserves his start and Sutherland won't let anybody down off the bench.

Harris over Daly makes sense to me, I think he has been our form 13 and (despite being skinned by Kolbe) is very solid in pretty much all aspects of the game.

The only change I perhaps don't buy is Watson being dropped, I would probably have started him and had Curry on the bench.

TightHEAD wrote:H Watson was shown up by the SA, why did people miss that?

No surprise he is dropped.

Not really. I doubt he had the cameo impact he wanted but his job was to get around the park and get stuck in and he did that well. Conan has also got some flak for being quiet but he was also present in covering for the Lawes and the locks a little further out so they could engage in the slugfest in the tight.

I’m a bit bewildered by Adams not getting at least a bench spot. I’d have him in over Anthony Watson but I’m not an internationally renowned rugby coach

I think this game will pick up where last week left off with kicking and territory being the factors at play, heavily influenced by each sides discipline.

A.Watson can make something from nothing. If we are moving the ball wide time after time then Adams should be in the team as he is an awesome finisher and deserves a chance.

Let's hope all the lads missing out get a game in the 3rd test when we are 2-0 up.

Even H.Watson!

tigertattie wrote:I’m a bit bewildered by Adams not getting at least a bench spot. I’d have him in over Anthony Watson but I’m not an internationally renowned rugby coach

I think this game will pick up where last week left off with kicking and territory being the factors at play, heavily influenced by each sides discipline.

Ah Tattie - we're all world class coaches and selectors on this forum.

None of the back 3 really did anything wrong last week and Gats will want the combination and their communication to bed-in further. It's tough to displace any of that combination unless anyone really has a howler.

No 7&1/2 wrote:I do worry about Vunipola, 1 swallow doesn't make a summer scrum wise. No out and out lock cover on the bench, but I suppose when Beirne comes on we'll see Lawes move there. Perhaps Jones will be more prominent this time around. The big question for me though is that back row cover, you've picked 2 but no real cover for openside; should Curry go off after 5 mins a  back row of Lawes, Conon and either of Beirne or Faletau is a touch cumbersome.

Yeah not 100% convinced by Vunapola either but he did play well in fairness to him and his messing with Kolbe (who was acting the ballax) was quality stuff.

Wouldnt be that worried about lock, Lawes and Beirne would do fine there. Curry would be a loss though but its very hard to get the right balance on any bench.

It's a little strange to leave yourself a little light (in theory) in some positional cover (7), yet stack your backs to theoretically provide more versatility. I would've had Adams on the bench, as he can cover the back three and Farrell can cover 10 and 12. There's sufficient cover there for the backs then, in my opinion.

I just feel that if Lions are chasing a game and had to make a back three replacement, I would sooner have Adams on than Daly (currently).

tigertattie wrote:I’m a bit bewildered by Adams not getting at least a bench spot. I’d have him in over Anthony Watson but I’m not an internationally renowned rugby coach

I think this game will pick up where last week left off with kicking and territory being the factors at play, heavily influenced by each sides discipline.

Adams is a better finisher than Watson but in a kick orientated game you need players in the back three who will make yards from deep.

Williams is the one to pay for Daly's demotion.

I expected a little bit of rotation at 2. Not that anyone has done something majorly wrong, but we have three good players there. A little harsh on Jamie George that he's not involved, but hopefully next week. Same for Adams.

Also noticed that there are more Scots in the squad than Welsh...

Daly probably there as a long range kicking option.if there's a 55m penalty to win on the 79th minute Daly's your man - not Adams or Williams.

Hogg has the range but is much more hit and miss than Daly. Daly also covers the back 3 and 13.

I know a lot of people want to see Williams or Adams involved but if they're not starting there's better options for the bench IMO.

From the BBC's interweb page thingy...

Dan Biggar, who kicked 14 points last weekend, is named to start at fly-half subject to passing both the concussion return-to-play protocols and an assessment by an independent concussion consultant.

Good to see that they are taking concussion seriously.

Also, we could still see some real Finnsanity on Saturday.


No complaints about the team selected. Sure, there are players I would rather see but everyone in there has staked their claim at some point on the tour so good luck to them all.

I would imagine that SA know what's coming. If they start dealing with the high ball what else do we have?

lostinwales wrote:Also noticed that there are more Scots in the squad than Welsh...

If I recall correctly, I think this means that the apocalypse can now officially start.

I think the MIsh and Adams can consider themselves really unlucky. Daley and Farrell lucky but no real grumbles with the team/. gsats has obviously decided he wants a steady "closer" option on the bench not gamechangers

Round in circles we go. Adams and Watson both great players, but Adams doesn't offer the kind of threat that DVDM and Watson (A) do. The assessment of Curry vs Watson (H) seems to be only based on what they got wrong not what they got right

lostinwales wrote:Williams is the one to pay for Daly's demotion.

I'd rather have Williams challenging for high balls.

lostinwales wrote:Round in circles we go. Adams and Watson both great players, but Adams doesn't offer the kind of threat that DVDM and Watson (A) do. The assessment of Curry vs Watson (H) seems to be only based on what they got wrong not what they got right

Most people since the announcement, have been mentioning Adams with regards to not making the 23 no?

I know personally, I have no issue with VDM or Watson starting. I also get why Daly is on the bench. I just feel a bit for Adams. It's similar to how unlucky Alun Bateman was in 1997. It's not because he's Welsh either, it's just considering him unlucky.

I'd have thought it's overall quite healthy to be having discussions over certain players being unlucky to miss out. Shows depth etc.

RiscaGame wrote:

I know personally, I have no issue with VDM or Watson starting. I also get why Daly is on the bench. I just feel a bit for Adams..

This

Adams could not have done more Hopefully he gets the third test.

Really need the Lions to win this one and setup a highly entertaining third test. Surely if the Lions get a 2-0 lead Gatland will reward the players who have narrowly missed out such as Adams, George, Henderson, Navidi, Fagerson etc.

Harris coming in makes a lot of sense but I’m not so sure if gifting Vunipola 60 mins is such a great idea. He did brilliant off the bench as did Murray and Williams, so I don’t get why they want to mess with that. Small qualm.

Overall a strong side who should be able to beat the Boks!

Boks need to win this test, don’t want to see a dead rubber at the end.

Old Man wrote:Boks need to win this test, don’t want to see a dead rubber at the end.

We all want a good contest over the series, OM.

What do you think the Bokke line-up will be?

Seems like the Waterboy has been giving the press a bit of clickbait. He is also "not" Jaco Johan.

Six changes for SA, anyway. Three in the starting XV (bold).

SA: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 1. Steven Kitshoff, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Franco Mostert, 6. Siya Kolisi (capt), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Marco van Staden, 21. Kwagga Smith, 22. Herschel Jantjies, 23. Damian Willemse.

As an aside, when I put this thread together I was going to change AW Jones' Lions number to #1 just to see if anyone else thought it was funny. Probably too subtle.

OP updated.

50 caps for Steven Kitshoff. Impressive given how young he is.

George Carlin wrote:As an aside, when I put this thread together I was going to change AW Jones' Lions number to #1 just to see if anyone else thought it was funny. Probably too subtle.

Why would you do that?

George Carlin wrote:As an aside, when I put this thread together I was going to change AW Jones' Lions number to #1 just to see if anyone else thought it was funny. Probably too subtle.

I'd have seen it as long overdue respect on his name, recognising him as the greatest Lion ever

Because of the amount of people who don't get Alun Wyn are his first names?

I'm more worried by that starting SA front row. I was as surprised by Kitshoff's quiet game as I was by Vunipola looking competent. I have a feeling they will want to put that right on Saturday and I think they probably will.

RiscaGame wrote:Seems like the Waterboy has been giving the press a bit of clickbait. He is also "not" Jaco Johan.

Six changes for SA, anyway. Three in the starting XV (bold).

SA: 15. Willie le Roux, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Lukhanyo Am, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Handré Pollard, 9. Faf de Klerk, 1. Steven Kitshoff, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 3. Frans Malherbe, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Franco Mostert, 6. Siya Kolisi (capt), 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8. Jasper Wiese.

Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Lood de Jager, 20. Marco van Staden, 21. Kwagga Smith, 22. Herschel Jantjies, 23. Damian Willemse.

Really interesting that they've started Wiese at 8. He's a completely different player to Kwagga Smith and more in the Vermuelen role in that he can carry through a brick wall. Wiese has been a revelation at Tigers with his carrying but he does have some discipline issues that he will need to keep a lid on.

My guess is that the Boks will try to use Jasper as Vermuelen mk 2 rather than the roving role that Smith was trying to play which required some tactical shifts for other Bok forwards. In defence ​I'd expect Wiese to frequently sit in the back field as Vermuelen does to return kicks. In attack he will carry off Faf all day long.

Kitshoff, Mbonambi and Malherbe is a terrific starting front row. I'm a bit surprised that Lood isn't starting to put more pressure on the Lions line-out on their own ball though. Mostert is a fantastic jumper and line=out leader in his own right but Lood is that step-up especially at defensive line-outs.

Elstadt out and Marco van Staden in means that the Boks have traded a lock/blindside for an out and out openside on the bench as well. Koch has returned to the bench and is strong over the ball for a prop, whilst Marx is very good at the ruck too. Perhaps we will see them really target he breakdown in the second half as things open up.

RiscaGame wrote:

George Carlin wrote:As an aside, when I put this thread together I was going to change AW Jones' Lions number to #1 just to see if anyone else thought it was funny. Probably too subtle.

I'd have seen it as long overdue respect on his name, recognising him as the greatest Lion ever

To be honest his ability to lean on rucks is unparalleled

Thanks for that KC. I hadn't really paid attention to who the changes were amongst the replacements, so that's a great summary.

I prefer Mrco van Staden, he plays to the ball in a more fetcher type role.