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Lions season
tickets now available
 Dec
4, 2006 - Lions season tickets for 2007 are now
available and for the first time a variety of packages
are available to cater for everyone.
Rugby fans will be spoilt for choice as they are able to
buy tickets for adults, pensioners, students, scholars,
a family of two (one parent and one child) or a family
of four (two adults and two children).
Season ticket holders will have access to each of the
seven Super 14 and all seven Currie Cup matches, as well
as to the Test between the Springboks and Samoa.
Season tickets are the ideal gift for loved ones,
friends, colleague or business associates, and are
expected to sell very quickly.
Tickets are available online at www.epsteamstore.co.za
and the tickets will be delivered to your doorstep.
Alternatively they can be purchased from the Ellis Park
Ticket Office. Prices start at R170. For more
information on the ticket prices visit
www.lionsrugby.co.za.
Season parking tickets, offering you safe and secure
parking close to the stadium, are also be available from
the Ellis Park Ticket Office.
For more information on purchasing your passport to
support the Lions contact (011) 402 2960 or (011) 402
9999 or email info@ellispark.co.za.
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Boks beat England
for the first time since 2000
 Nov
25, 2006 - The last time the Boks beat England was in June 2000 at
Loftus in Pretoria, that was before they managed to at
last secure a victory over
England after 7 straight losses to the men in white.
It's also the first time since 1997 that we managed a
win in London. The score was 25-14, with Andre Pretorius
at last coming right and adding 20 points, including 4
drop goals. Let's be honest, this English side is poor,
and the Boks, even though they aren't at full strength,
should have won last week as well. Jake White returns to
South Africa on Wednesday for a meeting, and it's
possible that he might lose his job as coach, this after
22 wins in 37 matches as coach.
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England beat Boks
23-21
Nov
18, 2006 - England beat the Springboks 23-21 in London on Saturday,
this after the Boks looked set to win the match, leading
18-6 at one stage. Crucial errors in the 2nd half cost
the Boks the match, this included a yellow card for Jean
de Villiers, and then the fact that Butch James was
replaced when the Boks seemed to be in control and
dominating the match. It was a better effort than the
previous week against Ireland, but still not good
enough.
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SARU and Spears settle out of court
Nov
17, 2006 - SARU and the Spears have settled out of
court, as per this short statement:
"Following certain negotiations which were initiated
by the Southern Spears, the dispute between SA Rugby and
the Southern Spears has been settled and the Southern
Spears has abandoned the judgment by Davis J handed down
on 4 August 2006.
The effect of the settlement is that the Spears will
not participate in the Vodacom Super 14 Competition."
Obviously this leaves the door open for the Lions to
now officially take part in the 2007 Super 14
competition.
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Eleven changes for Boks to play
England
Nov
15, 2006 - Coach Jake White has hit panic stations and
made no fewer than eleven changes to the side that will
face England this Saturday. Five of the changes are
positional, perhaps an indication that the coach
realised that players should not play out of position,
although CJ van der Linde will start at loosehead and
Wynand Olivier at outside centre. To see the full team,
click here. |
Boks slaughtered in
Dublin
Nov
11, 2006 - The Springboks went down 32-15 to Ireland in
Dublin on Saturday, in what must have been quite a
worrying display to coach Jake White and Springbok
supporters alike. The Boks played well for the first
five minutes of the game, keeping the ball in hand, and
also scoring the first points of the match. But as soon
as Ireland got the ball, it was evident that the Bok
defense was non-existant, and they let in four tries,
the 1st time ever that they conceded four tries to
Ireland. It was also the most points ever conceded to
Ireland, 18 in 2000 being the previous highest. It's
obviously also the highest losing margin, 17, where 5 in
2004 was the previous highest losing margin to Ireland.
It's only the 3rd time in the history that the Boks lost
to Ireland. |
Nothing wrong with the
Lions finances
 Nov
1, 2006 - The Lions invited the media to a press
conference at Ellis Park on Wednesday where they were
quite open about their finances, this to disspel recent
rumours that the union was in financial trouble. They
did admit that losses were made in 2004 and 2005, but
that a modest profit was expected in 2006. They went so
far as to present the 2004 and 2005 balance sheets and
income statements, certainly not something they would
have done if there was anything to hide. They also
talked about their future vision for the union,
mentioning that in 2007 up to 80% of the players
contracts will be performance based, certainly a bold
step, and one that most people will agree, in the right
direction. They also contracted 42 players for the 2007
season, 22 fewer than this year. |
Lions unveil new
Super 14 logo
Oct
17, 2006 - The Lions unveiled their new logo for the
2007 Super 14 season on Tuesday. The Cats brand is
history, and from next year the team will take part in
the Super 14 as the Lions, and therefore a new logo had
to be found. A number of logos were put to the vote, and
the one pictured here was the most popular with the
fans, and will be the new logo for the Lions in the 2007
Super 14. |
Five Lions included in Bok squad
 Oct
15, 2006 - Five Lions were named in the Bok squad
announced on Saturday, they are Jaque Fourie, Enrico
Januarie, Andre Pretorius, Jaco Pretorius and Lawrence
Sephaka. Jaco Pretorius is the only one of the five yet
to make his appearance in a test, and forced his way
into the 28-man squad after an excellent season at
outside centre for the Lions. In my book he was the best
Lion in the Currie Cup, and it's great to see that his
good form was rewarded by a Bok call-up. |
Lions crush Pumas
in Witbank
 Sep
29, 2006 - The Lions totally outplayed the Pumas in
Witbank on Friday, beating them 89-10 and scoring 13
tries to 1 in the process. John Daniels scored 3,
thereby becoming the player that has scored the most
tries in the Currie Cup in a career, namely 65. Pietie
Ferreira had his best game for the Lions, looking great
on attack and also scoring two tries in the match. Andre
Pretorius kicked 12 conversions for 24 points. The Lions
moved up into 2nd place on the log after this game, but
might see 3 teams overtake them again on Saturday to be
denied a semi-final spot. |
Lions beat WP to
stay in the hunt
Sep
23, 2006 - The Lions beat Western Province 42-36 at
Ellis Park on Saturday, keeping their slim hopes of
reaching the semi-finals alive. They need one of WP, the
Sharks or the Blue Bulls to lose next weekend to sneak
into 4th spot. Jaco Pretorius scored three tries,
earning his man of the match award. The
full match report is here. |
Loffie makes 7
changes for WP
 Sep
20, 2006 - Coach Eugene Eloff announced seven changes to
the side that will face WP in a must win encounter on
Saturday. The Lions need to win and get a bonus point to
stay in the hunt for one of the semi-final spots. Jano
Vermaak is back at number 9, and hopefully he has fully
recovered from the injury that has kept him out of the
side for just over a month. Andre Pretorius will also
start at Flyhalf, while Anton van Zyl is back at lock
and we will also field a complete new front row. The
full team and match report is here. |
Lions hang on to
beat Griquas
Sep
16, 2006 - Even though the Lions beat Griquas 34-32 at
Ellis Park on Saturday, the match did not go as planned.
The Lions were leading 24-7 at half time, and then
somehow went to sleep, allowing Griquas to stage a
massive second half fight back that nearly resulted in a
surprise victory for them. It means that Griquas scored
25 points in the second half to the 10 from the Lions.
Jaco Pretorius was again the pick of the Lions backline
players, with Doppies la Grange named as the official
man of the match. The win gave the Lions another 5
points on the log, but we need to lift our game if we
want to beat Western Province next week. Click here
for the full match report. |
Loffie includes
Pretorius on bench for Griquas clash
 Sep
14, 2006 - Andre Pretorius is back from Springbok duty,
and the match-winning Flyhalf was included on the bench
for Saturday's match against Griquas at Ellis Park. The
home side would like to take revenge for going down
27-23 to Griquas in Kimberley earlier in the season, and
with the way that the Lions turned their season around,
winning their 6th game in a row seems a likely outcome.
The home team also know that they need to get 15 points
from their last three matches to stay in the hunt for a
semi-final place, anything less would most probably mean
that they can only end as high as 5th on the log. The full
team and match report is here. |
Lions taste
victory over Falcons in Brakpan
Sep
8, 2006 - The Lions did just what they had to in Brakpan
on Friday night, win the game and score enough tries for
the bonus point. In the end they won 32-17 after leading
17-10 at the break, but it was a comfortable win, as
they scored 5 tries to 2. Once again the kicking let us
down, with Harris missing a conversion before he left
the field injured, and then Rose also missing two
conversions. Jaco Pretorius was the star player on the
night, breaking the Falcons defense at will and scoring
one try and having a hand in a few others. With the win
we made sure that we are still in the hunt for one of
the semi-final spots, and putting ourselves in a
position to perhaps move into fourth spot next weekend. |
Lions take revenge
on Cheetahs
 Sep
4, 2006 - The Lions took revenge on the Cheetahs for
their heavy 1st round loss by beating them 39-28 at
Ellis Park on Friday. The Lions managed to score 5 tries
to 4, and with this victory closed the gap to just four
points between them and the Blue Bulls who are in 4th
place on the Currie Cup log.This weekend the Lions
play the Falcons in Brakpan, and would certainly aim to
pick up another 5 log points.
|
Loffie picks same
XV for Cheetahs
 Aug
29, 2006 - Coach Eugene Eloff showed faith in the
starting XV that beat the Sharks two weeks ago and named
an unchanged side to face the Cheetahs at Ellis Park on
Friday night. It's the first time this season that Eloff
named an unchanged side, and shows that he believes that
this is his stongest side, as we play the log leaders.
There is a chance that Enrico Januarie might be called
up for Bok duty for Fourie du Preez, which might cause a
problem for the Lions as Nic Eyere isn't available
because of severe flu. Marius Hurter and Dave von
Hoesslin are two new faces on the bench. Check the forum
page for the full team.
|
Lions in
nail-biting win over Sharks
 Aug
19, 2006 - The Lions beat the Sharks 22-21 in a
thrilling encounter at Ellis Park on Saturday. With only
four minutes to go the Sharks were leading 21-15, but
then the Lions scored a brilliant try from deep within
their own half in a move where most of the team handled
the ball, with Grant Esterhuizen eventually going over
in the left corner. Mark Harris (pic) kicked the
difficult conversion from the touchline to give the
Lions their third victory in three games.The full match report is
here.
|
Surprise at
Flyhalf for Lions
Aug
17, 2006 - Eugene Eloff came up with a surprising
selection at Flyhalf for the game against the Sharks on
Saturday, picking Jaco van Schalkwyk, who, up to now,
has only played at outside centre for the Lions. The
Lions would like to continue their upward trend in the
second round of the Currie Cup with a victory over the
Sharks, as this would also bring them closer to a
semi-final spot. The full team and match report is
here. |
Historic win for Lions
at Loftus
Aug
12, 2006 - The Lions beat the Blue Bulls 19-17 at Loftus
on Saturday, after leading 9-0 at the break. With this
victory they created a piece of history, because the
last time the Lions were able to win at Loftus in the
Currie Cup was in 1999, which also means that none of
the players in the current squad tasted Currie Cup
victory at Loftus before Saturday. With this win the
Lions proved that they have turned their season around,
and might be able to challenge for a semi-final spot.
Andre Pretorius was named man of the match, and he
certainly provided the spark for the Lions in the match,
as our only try came from a brilliant intercept by him. |
Two Springboks on bench
for Lions vs Blue Bulls
 Aug
10, 2006 - Lawrence Sephaka and Enrico Januarie were
included on the bench for the Lions team that will face
the Blue Bulls at Loftus on Saturday. Both players
haven't played for the Lions this season yet. In the
starting XV there was only one change, with Wylie Human
back at wing in the place of John Daniels. Visit the
Forum page (link on the left) for the full team. |
Lions in big win over
Pumas at home
Aug
5, 2006 - It was all smiles for coach Eugene Eloff at
the post match conference after his team beat the Pumas
74-15 at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Lions scored eleven
tries to two, and entertained the small crowd with
spectacular rugby, with quite a few tries started from
their own 22 meter area. It certainly looks like the
team has clicked at last, and hopefully they can get a
few wins against the bigger teams in the second round of
the competition. One can also only hope that this brand
of rugby will get the crowds back to Ellis Park to
support the Lions. |
Spears win court case against Saru
 Aug
4, 2006 - The Spears won their court case against Saru today,
which means that they have won the right to participate
in the 2007 Super 14, and the implication is that the
Cats therefore will not be taking part in the 2007 Super
14. Financially this could be very hurtful for the Cats,
as we might lose sponsors, fewer companies will rent
suites, and we also stand to lose some of our top
players to unions that will be taking part in the Super
14.
|
Coach shows faith in players
Aug
2, 2006 - Coach Eugene Eloff showed faith in the players
that narrowly lost to Western Province last weekend by
naming just one change to the team that will play the
Pumas at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Pumas are currently
at the bottom of the Currie Cup log, with the Lions just
one spot above them in 7th place. A good win with a
bonus point and a big winning margin can see the Lions
back in 5th spot after the weekend. The full team is
posted on the Forum page, follow the link called "Forum"
in the navigation on the left. |
Lions narrowly
lose at Newlands
July
29, 2006 - The Lions went down 28-30 to Western Province
at Newlands, but it looks like the team has at last
turned the corner, as it was one of their better
performances of the season, and could easily have been a
victory instead of a loss. Andre Pretorius certainly
made a huge difference at Flyhalf, where the team has
been without direction up to now, but Doppies la Grange
also made an impact at inside centre. One can only hope
that coach Eugene Eloff now use this team as the basis
on which to go forward. |
Pretorius to start
against WP
July
27, 2006 - Andre Pretorius makes a welcome return from
injury, and will start for the Lions at Flyhalf against
Western Province on Saturday. He is one of eight changes
to the team that lost against Griquas last Saturday.
John Daniels, who has scored 35 tries for the Lions in
46 matches, will also start for the first time since
August last year. Daniels was also the top try scorer
for the Lions during the 2002, 2003 and 2003 seasons,
and hopefully he can do some damage against WP. Doppies
la Grange is also back at number 12, and Anton van Zyl
will make his debut at lock. The full team is on the
forum page. |
Lions fall in the
big hole in Kimberley
July
22, 2006 - The Lions went down 23-27 to the Griquas in
Kimberley on Saturday, making it their 4th loss in 5
games under coach Eugene Eloff. It was certainly a game
that the Lions would have been expected to win, as
Griquas was a late inclusion to the Currie Cup, this
after the Spears was excluded from the competition. The
Lions downfall was the inability of their forwards to
dominate, and they also made the big mistake not to use
the advantage of playing with a strong wind in the first
half of the game. One just hopes that Eugene also now
finally realises that Earl Rose is not the answer at
number ten, and with Andre Pretorius playing the final
30 minutes from the bench, the hope is that he will be
ready to start at number 10 for the Lions for the rest
of the season, or at least until he gets a call-up from
Jake White. |
Boks go down in
Wellington
July
22, 2006 - The Boks lost 17-35 to the All Blacks in
Wellington on Saturday, making it the first time that
coach Jake White has lost three tests in a row. He seems
to have lost the plot a bit, like so many other coaches
before him, starting out quite well and then falling
into the trap of wrong player selections. At least three
of the match 22 of Saturday should not be there, and one
wonders how a coach of White's ability can't see that. |
Lions team starting to settle as Loffie only makes four changes
July
20, 2006 - Coach Eugene Eloff only made four changes to
the Lions side to play Griquas on Saturday, with two of
the changes forced by injuries. Gerhard Mostert and Jody
Rose are out injured and are replaced by Cobus Grobler
and Earl Rose. Wikus van Heerden is also back from his
rest and replaces Cobus Grobbelaar who moves to the
bench, and Jaco van Schalkwyk comes in for Mark Harris
on the left wing.
In other news Jake White made five changes to the
Springbok side that will play the All Blacks on
Saturday. Click here to view
the team. |
Boks bullied in
Brisbane
 July
15, 2006 - The Springboks suffered their heaviest defeat
in the history of the Tri-Nations when they went down
49-0 to the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday. Jake
White seems to have lost the plot a bit, picking players
that don't seem to be their best, or perhaps not even
under the top 5 in their position in the country. Case
in point is Enrico Januarie, who had a very poor Super
14, and continues his poor form in the test matches,
putting his Flyhalf under constant pressure with poor
passing. But that is not the only place where things
went wrong on Saturday, almost none of the players on
the park had a good game, and I don't know how things
will be turned around for the game against the All
Blacks next Saturday. |
Lions record
first win of the Currie Cup season
July
14, 2006 - The Lions beat the Valke 32-19 at Ellis Park
on Friday for their first win of the 2006 Currie Cup
season. The game was closer than indicated by the score,
the Valke were still in it with a few minutes to go, but
the Lions scored a try just before the end, their
fourth, to earn a bonus point as well. Louis Ludik was
named man of the match after scoring the last two Lions
tries. The Valke only scored one try, but were kept in
the match by the boot of Louis Strydom, who kicked four
penalties and a conversion. The win sees the Lions move
up three places on the log to 5th. |
Jake changes six for Wallabies
July
12, 2006 - Jake White made six changes to the Springbok
side that will play the Wallabies in Brisbane on
Saturday. Two players from the Blue Bulls, Akona
Ndungane and Pierre Spies, will make their Springbok
debut. Two Lions players, Enrico Januarie and Jaque
Fourie, are also back in the team after the team against
France did not contain any Lions. Click
here to view the full match
22.
Also on Wednesday, coach Eugene Eloff announced
the Lions side to play the Valke on Friday, this time
making seven changes (two positional) to the team that
were hammered by the Cheetahs. Click
here to view the full match
22. |
Lions suffer big defeat in Bloemfontein
July
08, 2006 - The Lions side went down 5-59 to the Cheetahs
in Bloemfontein on Saturday. It's the most points we've
conceded to the Blikore since I've started keeping stats
in 1988, and certainly one of the blackest days for
Lions rugby that I've experienced as a fan. We've played
good rugby in the game against the Sharks, and just
needed a reliable kicker, but since then Loffie made 6
and then 8 changes to the team. He quickly needs to get
his best 15 on the park, and also sort out the lack of
quality players in key positions, or else this is going
to be one of our worst Currie Cup campaigns ever,
currently we are 8th on the log.
|
Eight changes to
team to face Cheetahs
 July
06, 2006 - It looks like Eugene Eloff is still
experimenting with the team, as he made another eight
changes to the team to play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein
this weekend. Two of the changes were forced by injuries
to Mujati and Grobler, who are replaced by Gert Muller
and Jean Deysel respectively. One change that will be
watched closely by most rugby lovers is the new
loosehead prop, Heinke van der Merwe, who represented
the SA U/21 side this year. Heinke makes his debut for
the Lions, and so does the tighthead prop, Gert Muller.
The full team is: Louis Ludik, Wylie Human, Jaco Pretorius, Wayne Julies, Grant Esterhuizen,
Earl Rose, Jano Vermaak, Ernst Joubert, Cobus Grobbelaar, Wikus van Heerden(c), Gerhard Mostert,
Jean Deysel, Gert Muller, James van der Walt, Heinke van der Merwe.
Reserves: Ethienne Reynecke, Daniel Muller, Willem Stoltz, Schalk van der Merwe, Rory Kockott, Jody Rose, Jaco van Schalkwyk.
|
Blue Bulls
overpower Lions at home
July
01, 2006 - Coach Eugene Eloff admitted at the post-match
press conference that we were simply outplayed up front,
this after the Blue Bulls beat us 39-24 at Ellis Park on
Saturday. Positives were that Mark Harris kicked 5 of
his 6 kicks at goal, so it looks like Eloff found his
goalkicker for the rest of the season, and again Ludik
and Jaco Pretorius played well, as well as Reyneke when
he came on as a reserve in the second half, but the
missed tackles cost us, and we conceded 5 tries, making
it too easy for the Blue Bulls.
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