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Cheetahs keep Lions winless in Bloem
 June
28, 2008 - The Lions went down 22-18 to the Cheetahs in
Bloemfontein on Saturday, continuing with their rather
poor start to the Currie Cup season. Heinke van der
Merwe was the best Lion on the park, having a huge game
in the scrums and destroying his opposition, but what
sank the Lions is the fact that they are still
struggling to score tries, as all 18 points in the match
came from the boot of Earl Rose.
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Sephaka back with the Lions
 June
26, 2008 - Lawrence Sephaka arrived in Johannesburg on
Wednesday after playing for the French club Toulon since
last November, and will start training with the Lions on
Monday and could play for the Lions in their match
against the Valke next Friday evening. In all 8 matches
that he started for the Lions in 2007 it was at
Tighthead, and that seems to be where the Lions will be
able to use him going forward.
Sephaka has got exactly 50 caps for the Lions, in which
he scored two tries and 10 points. He also played in 40
Super Rugby matches, and 24 Test matches for the
Springboks, the last of which was on 11 November 2006.
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Lions unchanged for Cheetahs clash
 June
25, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff decided to leave the Lions
team unchanged for the Cheetahs clash on Saturday. Rayno
Benjamin will have to pass a fitness test after his
injury in the match against the Blue Bulls last
Saturday, so he is bracketed with Dusty Noble, while
Anton van Zyl makes a welcome return on the bench after
his long injury lay-off.
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Lions shocked at home by Blue Bulls
 June
21, 2008 - The Lions started their 2008 Currie Cup
campaign in the worst fashion at home on Saturday, going down 21-7 to the Blue
Bulls in a match where the home team struggled the whole
match to find any kind of rhytm. Mametsa scored three
tries in his 100th match for the Blue Bulls and was
deservedly named man of the match. The Lions scored one
try only and didn't earn any bonus points in the match,
a terrible start to the Currie Cup season.
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Six changes to Boks to play Italy
 June
19, 2008 - Peter de Villiers made six changes to the
Springbok team that will face Italy at Newlands on
Saturday. Joe van Niekerk is the first ever Lions player
picked by the new coach, although it's only on the bench
for the Italy game.
The changes are: Bismarck du Plessis for John Smit at
Hooker, CJ van der Linde for BJ Botha at Tighthead, Ryan
Kankowski for Pierre Spies at number 8, Francois Steyn
for Butch James at Flyhalf, Gcobani Bobo for Adrian
Jacobs at Outside Centre and Odwa Ndungane for Tonderai
Chavhanga on the right wing.
Click
here to view the full team.
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Loffie names team to face Blue Bulls in Currie Cup opener
 June
18, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff named the Lions team to
face the Blue Bulls in the first game of the Currie Cup
this Saturday at Ellis Park. The team is virtually the
same as the team that played in the Super 14, with the
exception of Joe van Niekerk. Click
here to view the full team.
At the same time, Loffie also named a 33-player squad
for the Currie Cup campaign. The squad is:
Willem Alberts, Rayno Benjamin, Jannie Boshoff, Ross
Geldenhuys, Heinrich Gordon, Cobus Grobbelaar, JC Janse
van Rensburg, Chris Jonck, Ernst Joubert, Michael
Killian, Wilhelm Koch, Doppies la Grange, Louis Ludik,
Derick Minnie, Gerhard Mostert, Gert Muller, Dusty
Noble, Jaco Pretorius, Ethienne Reynecke, Earl Rose,
Jody Rose, Dewald Senekal, Justin St Jerry, Louis
Strydom, Francois Uys, Franco van der Merwe, Heinke van
der Merwe, Jaco van Schalkwyk, Anton van Zyl, Walter
Venter, Jano Vermaak, Willie Wepener, Justin Wheeler.
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Springboks struggle to put Wales away
 June
14, 2008 - The Springboks beat Wales 37-21 at Loftus on
Saturday, but the score flatters the Boks as it was a
much closer affair than what the score says. The Boks
only really secured the match in the last 10 minutes,
and before that for stages it looked like Wales might
score the upset victory. It looked like the Springboks
thought they were playing the third half of last weeks
match, and it almost caught them out. Jean de Villiers
scored two tries and was named man of the match, the
other two tries coming from Enrico Januarie and Bismarck
du Plessis.
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4 changes to Springbok team to play Wales
 June
12, 2008 - Coach Peter de Villiers announced four
changes to the team that will play Wales in the 2nd test
at Loftus on Saturday. The obvious problem in the scrum
is addressed with BJ Botha in for Brian Mujati at
Tighthead, and Tendai Mtawarira will also make his debut
at Loosehead in the place of Gurthro Steenkamp. Enrico
Januarie is back from suspension and will start at
Scrumhalf, while Victor Matfield will start at Lock in
the place of Andries Bekker.
Click
here to view the full team.
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Squad of 22 players for compulsory friendly announced
June
11, 2008 - The Lions play a compulsory friendly against
an Eastern Cape Combined XV on Friday, and the following
22 players were selected for this match:
Forwards: Heinke van der Merwe, JC Janse van Rensburg,
Gert Muller, Ethienne Reynecke, Willie Wepener, Dewald
Senekal, Franco van der Merwe, Gerhard Mostert, Francois
Uys, Cobus Grobbelaar, Justin Wheeler, Willem Alberts.
Backs: Chris Jonck, Jano Vermaak, Louis Strydom, Jaco
van Schalkwyk, Wigan Pekeur, Walter Venter, Rayno
Benjamin, Louis Ludik, Michael Killian, Earl Rose.
The match XV will be finalised after the captain's run
on Thursday.
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Springboks crush Wales in Bloemfontein
 June
7, 2008 - New Springbok coach Peter de Villiers couldn't
have asked for a better start from his team, they
outplayed Wales in Bloemfontein on Saturday, beating
them 43-17. Butch James kicked 5 penalties and 4
conversions to add 23 points with the boot, and also
claim the man-of-the-match title. The Boks scored four
tries through Jantjes, De Villiers, Spies and
Montgomery. Wales points came from a penalty, two tries
and two conversions.
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Pretorius ruled out for a further six months
 June
6, 2008 - The Lions received the worst possible news on
Thursday, Flyhalf Andre Pretorius will be out for at
least another six months, ruling him out of the whole
Currie Cup season.
The operation on his foot wasn't a success and will have
to be done again. The player and coach remain hopefull
that he will be able to play in next year's Super 14
campaign for the Lions. Pretorius has got 44 caps for
the Lions, having played his last game on 29 September
2006.
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11 changes to Springbok team to play Wales
June
5, 2008 - Coach Peter de Villiers named his first
Springbok side on Thursday since taking over as
Springbok coach, and it shows 11 changes from the last
test that the Springboks played, also against Wales at
Cardiff on 24 November last year. Only John Smit,
Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith and Bryan Habana keep their
places from that last test. Click
here to view the full team.
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Now you can rate the players!
 May
21, 2008 - I have added brand new functionality to my
website, now you can rate the players on their
performance after a match by giving them stars, 1 star
if the player didn't do so well, and 5 stars if he
couldn't have been better. Click
here to rate the
players based on what they did in the Stormers match.
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Six Lions named in Springbok training squad
May
17, 2008 - Peter de Villiers named 42 players in his
Springbok training squad on Saturday, and 6 players from
the Lions made the squad, they are: Jaque Fourie, Louis
Ludik, Earl Rose, Gerhard Mostert, Heinke van der Merwe
and Joe van Niekerk. Because the Sharks qualified for
the playoffs of the Super 14, no Sharks were included in
the squad. The full squad is:
Backs: Heini Adams, Gcobani Bobo, Meyer Bosman, Tonderai
Chavanga, Jean de Villiers, Isma-eel Dollie, Fourie du
Preez, Jaque Fourie, Peter Grant, Bryan Habana, Butch
James, Enrico Januarie, Conrad Jantjes, Zane Kirchner,
Louis Ludik, Percy Montgomery, Akona Ndungane, Jongi
Nokwe, Wynand Olivier, Earl Rose.
Forwards: Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Schalk Brits,
Schalk Burger, Wian du Preez, Kabamba Floors, Hilton
Lobberts, Victor Matfield, Gerhard Mostert, Brian Mujati,
Chiliboy Ralepele, Danie Rossouw, John Smit(c), Juan
Smith, Pierre Spies, Gurthro Steenkamp, CJ van der Linde,
Heinke van der Merwe, Wikus van Heerden, Joe van Niekerk,
Duane Vermeulen, Luke Watson.
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Stormers overcome brave Lions
May
17, 2008 - The Lions put up a brave fight at Ellis Park
on Saturday, but in the end the Stormers managed to
score two quick tries in the last five minutes of the
match and win 22-13. The Stormers probably needed four
tries to qualify for the play-offs, so the Lions might
have spoilt their Super 14 chances.
For the full match report click
here.
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Lions unchanged for Stormers match
May
14, 2008 - As expected after their win over the Chiefs
last Saturday, the Lions team for the Stormers match is
unchanged. Jano Vermaak was supposed to start against
the Chiefs, but was ill and Chris Jonck grabbed the
opportunity and performed so well that he was also named
man of the match, so he gets another start against the
Stormers this Saturday. Jano Vermaak will be on the
bench in the place of Freddie van Zyl.
For the full match report and full teams click
here.
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Lions shock the Chiefs
May
10, 2008 - The Lions did the unthinkable at Ellis Park
on Saturday, beating the Chiefs, who are in the run for
a semi-final place in this years Super 14 competition.
The score was 33-27, and this after the Chiefs scored
two quick tries in the last two minutes of the game.
Chris Jonck was named man of the match, and he wasn't
even supposed to play, he only replaced Jano Vermaak at
a late stage after Vermaak had to withdraw with a
stomach bug.
For the full match report click
here.
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Jaque Fourie to start against Chiefs
 May
7, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff wasted no time in naming
Jaque Fourie in the starting line-up for Saturday's
match against the Chiefs at Ellis Park.
Fourie has missed the whole season so far because of
injury, and has only had a bit of game time off the
bench in the Vodacom Cup quarter final match against the
Blue Bulls, in which the Young Lions suffered a heavy
loss.
It's great to have Fourie back, he is one of our best
players, always giving everything when he plays, but I'm
not sure that it's a good thing to rush him back so
quickly.
The six changes are: Louis Ludik back at wing in the
place of Jannie Boshoff who moves to the bench, Jaque
Fourie at outside centre in the place of Walter Venter,
who moves to inside centre in the place of Doppies la
Grange, Rayno Benjamin back at wing in the place of
Dusty Noble, who moves to the bench, and Willem Alberts
back at number eight, with Joe van Niekerk moving to
seven in the place of Franco van der Merwe, who moves to
the bench.
For the match report and full teams click
here.
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Lions blown away by Hurricanes
 May
3, 2008 - The Lions continued their poor form in the
2008 Super 14, going down 38-12 to the Hurricanes in
Wellington on Saturday. They managed to score two tries
to the five from the Hurricanes, one by Willie Wepener
and one by Janie Boshoff. Luckily for me we were load-shedded
in the first half, so I only witnessed the carnage in
the 2nd half.
We've had a terrible season, and one can only hope that
the people in charge have identified the problems that
caused our poor run, and are in the process of
rectifying them. I certainly did not expect the team to
end up on the bottom of the log this year, and it's just
not good enough for a proud union like the Lions to find
ourselves in that position.
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Six changes for Hurricanes match
May
1, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff made six changes to the
team to play the Hurricanes this Saturday. Louis Ludik
took a few heavy knocks in the Brumbies match, and is
rested, his place taken by Jannie Boshoff, who played
outside centre against the Brumbies. Walter Venter moves
from inside to outside centre, while Doppies la Grange
comes in at inside centre. Dusty Noble replaces Rayno
Benjamin at right wing, while Joe van Niekerk moves to
number eight in the place of injured Willem Alberts,
with Franco van der Merwe coming in at number seven.
The full team is: Earl Rose, Jannie Boshoff, Walter
Venter, Doppies la Grange, Dusty Noble, Jaco van
Schalkwyk, Jano Vermaak, Joe van Niekerk, Franco van der
Merwe, Cobus Grobbelaar(c), Gerhard Mostert, Dewald
Senekal, JC Janse van Rensburg, Willie Wepener, Heinke
van der Merwe.
Reserves: Ethienne Reynecke, Ross Geldenhuys, Cobus
Grobler, Wilhelm Koch, Chris Jonck, Rudi Vogt, Louis
Ludik.
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Brumbies edge Lions at the death
Apr
25, 2008 - The Brumbies edged the Lions 28-21 on Friday
when they scored the winning try right at the end of the
match. Both teams scored three tries, the three by the
Lions scored by Earl Rose with two tries and one by
captain Cobus Grobbelaar. The Lions will be pleased with
the three tries as they didn't score any in the previous
two games, and also with the bonus point they earned,
but once again this was a match where they could have
done better.
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Four changes for Brumbies Match
 Apr
23, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff made four changes, of which one is positional, to the Lions side to play the Brumbies at Canberra Stadium this Friday.
Earl Rose replaces Louis Ludik at Fullback, with Ludik moving to Right Wing in the place of Dusty Noble. Jannie Boshoff replaces the
injured Jaco Pretorius at Outside Centre, while Walter Venter is back at Inside Centre in the place of Doppies la Grange.
The Lions will hope that the backline changes will spark
something, as the team haven't scored any tries in their
last two outings.
The full team is: Earl Rose, Louis Ludik, Jannie Boshoff, Walter Venter, Rayno Benjamin, Jaco van Schalkwyk, Jano Vermaak, Willem Alberts, Joe van Niekerk, Cobus Grobbelaar(c), Gerhard Mostert, Dewald Senekal, JC Janse van Rensburg, Willie Wepener, Heinke van der Merwe.
Reserves: Ethienne Reynecke, Eugene Maqwelana, Franco van der Merwe, Wilhelm Koch, Chris Jonck, Rudi Vogt, Dusty Noble.
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Jaco Pretorius also out injured
 Apr
23, 2008 - Centre Jaco Pretorius picked up a groin
injury in the match against the Waratahs and will return
home as there are only two overseas matches left for the
Lions. This leaves the door open for either Jannie
Boshoff or Jaco van Schalkwyk to play at outside centre
for the Lions against the Brumbies on Friday, and all
eyes will also be on Jaque Fourie, who makes his return
from injury for the Vodacom Cup side on Friday night.
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Waratahs too strong for game Lions
Apr
19, 2008 - The Lions put up a spirited performance
against the Waratahs on Saturday, managing to go into
the break with the score on 0-0, but in the end the
Waratahs showed their class and they took the match
26-3. The Lions were their own worst enemy in the second
half, when they let in a few soft Waratahs tries by
rather silly mistakes.
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Question and Answer session with CEO Manie Reyneke
 Apr
17, 2008 - In a first for my website, the CEO of the
Golden Lions Rugby Union and Super 14 Lions, Manie
Reyneke, agreed to do a monthly Question and Answer
session with us. What I did was post a message on my
forum page and invite you, the visitors, to post
questions that you wanted answered, and these I then put
to Manie, who supplied the answers. Click
here to have a look at the
Questions and answers, and remember, we are going to do
this once a month!
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Four changes for Waratahs
Apr
16, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff made four changes to the
side that will play the Waratahs in Sydney on Saturday.
Jaco Pretorius replaces Jannie Boshoff at outside
centre, Jano Vermaak replaces Chris Jonck at Scrumhalf,
JC Janse van Rensburg starts at Tighthead in the place
of Ross Geldenhuys and Willie Wepener replaces Ethienne
Reynecke at Hooker.
The full team is: Ludik, Noble, Pretorius, La Grange,
Benjamin, Van Schalkwyk, Vermaak, Alberts, Van Niekerk,
Grobbelaar(c), Mostert, Senekal, Janse van Rensburg,
Wepener, Van der Merwe.
Reserves: Reynecke, Geldenhuys, Franco van der Merwe,
Koch, Jonck, Vogt, Boshoff.
The Lions are currently at the bottom of the Super 14
log, while the Waratahs are in 4th place.
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Rose and Varkhond called up
 Apr
15, 2008 - Earl Rose and Cobus "Varkhond" Grobler will
fly out to Australia on Wednesday evening to replace the
injured Justin St Jerry and Anton van Zyl. St Jerry
picked up concussion in the match against the Crusaders
last Saturday, while Van Zyl picked up a calf injury
before the match and had to withdraw from the match 22.
Both injured players will fly back to South Africa and
won't be available for the remaining overseas matches of
the Lions.
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Crusaders crush Lions
Apr
14, 2008 - The Crusaders were too good for the Lions on
Saturday, beating them 31-6 after the Lions lead 6-3 at
the break. The Lions played well in the 1st half, and
for a while it looked like they might cause the upset of
the season, but then the Crusaders scored the first try
after the break, one that the TMO had to look at, and it
must be said a bit dodgy as well, and after that the
Lions battled to keep up the defenses and the Crusaders
managed to run in three more tries for the bonus point
victory.
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Seven changes for Crusaders
Apr
9, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff made seven changes to the
team to play the Crusaders on Saturday. The changes are: Jannie Boshoff at outside centre for Jaco Pretorius,
Doppies la Grange at inside centre for Walter Venter,
Chris Jonck at scrumhalf for Jano Vermaak, Joe van
Niekerk at Flank for Franco van der Merwe, Dewald
Senekal at lock for Anton van Zyl, Ross Geldenhuys at
tighthead prop for Eugene Maqwelana, and Ethienne Reynecke
at hooker for Willie Wepener.
The full team is: Ludik, Noble, Boshoff, La Grange,
Benjamin, Van Schalkwyk, Jonck, Alberts, Van Niekerk,
Grobbelaar(c), Mostert, Senekal, Geldenhuys, Reynecke,
Van der Merwe.
Reserves: Wepener, Janse van Rensburg, Van Zyl, Franco van der Merwe,
Vermaak, Vogt, St Jerry.
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Update from Ethienne ”Ettas” Reynecke
 Apr
5, 2008 - The Lions are gone for six weeks on their
Super 14 tour of Australasia, and I thought that it
would be a great idea to get one of the players to give
us a regular update from the "inside". My favourite
hooker, Ethienne "Ettas" Reynecke agreed to keep us
updated, and you can click
here to read his thoughts on the games and the tour.
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Lions beaten by bottom-of-the-log Highlanders
Apr
4, 2008 - The Lions were beaten 29-20 by the Highlanders
in Dunedin on Friday, dropping to 13th place on the
Super 14 log in the process. It's bad news for the
Lions, as this was probably the easiest match of the
five that they play overseas, and it could mean that the
Lions return to South Africa winless from the overseas
leg of their Super 14. It's already a bit of a nightmare
season, and at this stage we have won 1 game from 7
starts, just not good enough.
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Lions change two for Highlanders
Apr
2, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff made two changes to the
team to play the Highlanders in New Zealand on Friday.
Captain Ernst Joubert is out for four months with a
shoulder injury, so Willem Alberts come in at number
eight and Big Joe moves to number seven, while Eugene
Maqwelana comes in at tighthead prop in the place of
Ross Geldenhuys, who moves to the bench. The full team
is: Louis Ludik, Dusty Noble, Jaco Pretorius, Walter
Venter, Rayno Benjamin, Jaco van Schalkwyk, Jano Vermaak,
Willem Alberts, Joe van Niekerk, Cobus Grobbelaar(c),
Gerhard Mostert, Anton van Zyl, Eugene Maqwelana, Willie
Wepener, Heinke van der Merwe.
Reserves: Ethienne Reynecke, Ross Geldenhuys, Dewald
Senekal, Franco van der Merwe, Chris Jonck, Rudi Vogt,
Jannie Boshoff.
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Hoskins re-elected President
 Mar
28, 2008 - Oregan Hoskins was re-elected as president of
SARU at the 8th annual general meeting in Cape Town on
Friday. He was opposed by Mike Stofile, the only other
nomination at the annual general meeting.
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Lions unable to hang on for win
 Mar
22, 2008 - The Lions drew 24-all with the Reds at Ellis
Park on Saturday, this after leading 24-17 with time up
on the clock, but the Reds kept the ball alive in the
final seconds and eventually broke the Lions defense to
force the draw. Jaco van Schalkwyk was named man of the
match after having a hand in both Lions tries. . Click
here
for the full match report. The Lions scored two tries
and the Reds three, so both teams get two points only
from the match.
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Loffie names unchanged side for Reds
Mar
19, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff named an unchanged side to
face the Reds at Ellis Park this Saturday. The players
did well against the Sharks last Saturday, and if it
wasn't for a few critical errors the result might have
been different. The match kicks off at 17:00. Click
here
for the full team and match report.
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Lions lose another home game
Mar
15, 2008 - The Sharks beat the Lions 16-8 at Ellis Park
on Saturday, both teams scoring only one try and the
difference between the teams three penalties from Rory
Kockott. Rain started falling 20 minutes into the game,
but both teams still ran the ball and it didn't look
like the rain affected play too much. Both teams had
plenty more scoring opportunities, and need to work on
finishing those chances. The Lions are now starting to
look like they might not achieve their objective of
finishing in the top half of the Super 14. Click here
for the full match report.
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Two changes for Sharks match
 Mar
13, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff made two changes to the
side that plays the Sharks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Louis Strydom is out injured for a month, and is
replaced at Flyhalf by Jaco van Schalkwyk, while Anton
van Zyl replaces Willem Stoltz at Lock. The great news
for the Lions is that Cobus Grobbelaar is fit to play,
this after suffering a hip injury early in the game
against the Bulls last Friday. The Lions are up against
it in this game, they are currently 12th on the log,
while the Sharks are 2nd and remain the only unbeaten
South African side. Click here
for the full teams and my match report that will be done
live from Ellis Park.
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Hougaard superb in Bulls victory over Lions
 Mar
7, 2008 - The Bulls tasted victory over the Lions at
Loftus on Friday, winning 31-17 after leading 25-5 at
the break. The Bulls scored two tries to the three from
the Lions, but Hougaard was the big match winner once
again for the Bulls, adding 21 points with the boot and
also named as man of the match.
The Lions were their own worst enemy, conceding far too
many penalties in the early stages of the game and
therefore never gaining any momentum, and even with
Kirchner red carded for a spear tackle and Bakkies Botha
yellow carded for a head-butt, the Bulls still managed
to go and score a try while the Lions should have been
dominating.
Jano Vermaak was brilliant, and was certainly the best
performer on the field for the Lions.
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Lions change one for Bulls match
Mar
4, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff on Tuesday announced the
Lions side to play the Bulls at Loftus this Friday, it
includes just the one change, Walter Venter comes in at
Inside Centre in the place of Doppies la Grange, who
injured his hamstring in the move that lead to the only
try by the Lions in the match against the Western Force
at Ellis Park last Friday.
Last year the Bulls won
this encounter 31-7 at Ellis Park, scoring 5 tries to 1,
but this year the Lions will fancy their chances, even
though the Bulls will be favourites to win the match.
The Bulls lost a number of top players to overseas
clubs, including greats like Victor Matfield and Gary
Botha, they are hit by the suspension of two players (JP
Nel and Jaco Engels) due to foul play, and they are also
struggling under new coach Frans Ludeke, who hasn't
really been successful at Super Rugby Level.
The Lions are also
struggling with injuries, perhaps showing that there is
a slight lack of player depth, but Eloff will be happy
with the fact that he could name virtually the same side
that narrowly went down the the Force last Friday, and
Walter Venter who is the only new player in the team,
certainly does not weaken the team, he started at Inside
Centre in the last four Currie Cup matches for the Lions
in the 2007 season including the semi-final and final,
also scoring two tries in the four games.
Flyhalf Louis Strydom will also undergo a
fitness test on Thursday, if he can't play Jaco van
Schalkwyk will be at Flyhalf.
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Lions pipped in close match by the Force
Feb
29, 2008 - The Lions went down to the Force in a close
match at Ellis Park on Friday night, the score 18-16 to
the Force after the Lions lead 16-15 at the break. The
second half produced only 3 points, although it seemed
as if a fair try by Jano Vermaak wasn't allowed by the
referee who ruled that the ball was knocked on. The
Force scored two tries to the one of the Lions, but it
must also be said that the Lions defense was much better
than last week against the Blues. You can read the match
report here.
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Jaco Pretorius fails fitness test
Feb
29, 2008 - Jaco Pretorius failed a fitness test on
Friday and will not take the field against the Western
Force. He had a hamstring problem after the Blues game
and will probably only be ready for the Bulls match next
weekend. His place at outside centre is taken by Jaco
van Schalkwyk, who scored our only try against the
Blues, while Jannie Boshoff comes in on the bench.
Remember that I will be doing my match report LIVE from
Ellis Park on Friday, the page can be found
here.
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Lions change three for Force
 Feb
27, 2008 - The Lions made three changes to the team that
will play against the Western Force at Ellis Park this
Friday. This after the team suffered a big defeat
against the Blues on Saturday. All three changes are in
the forwards, with captain Ernst Joubert back at number
7, Joe van Niekerk getting a start at number eight after
looking good as a sub in the previous two games, and
Willem Stoltz coming in at lock, certainly adding bulk
and height to the pack. You can have a look at the full
team here, and also
remember that this year I'm doing my match reports LIVE
from Ellis Park, that will be on that same page on
Friday.
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Lions blown away by Blues
Feb
23, 2008 - The Lions suffered a heavy defeat at the
hands of the Blues at Ellis Park on Saturday, losing
55-10 after trailing 31-3 at the break. The Blues scored
seven tries to the one from the Lions. The Blues were
just too good for the Lions, breaking through the
midfield defense at will, and the Lions also didn't do
themselves any favours by kicking a lot of valuable
possession to the dangerous Blues runners.
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Lions change one for Blues match
 Feb
20, 2008 - The Lions side that was announced today shows
only one change from the side that beat the Cheetahs in
Bloemfontein on Saturday. Willem Alberts has recovered
from his knee injury and is back at number eight in the
place of RW Kember. The match kicks off at 19:05 at
Ellis Park on Saturday evening, and promises to be a
bruising encounter, as the Blues showed on the weekend
that they are one of the stronger teams in this year's
competition.
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Lions beat Cheetahs in Bloem
 Feb
16, 2008 - It's Eugene Eloff's 2nd season in charge of
the Lions for the Super 14, and the team made him proud
on Saturday in a nail biting 23-22 victory over the
Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. We couldn't beat a South
African team last year, and now we've got one from one,
and if we can build on that, it promises to be a better
season than 2007. The Cheetahs lead 19-13 at the break,
and it must be said that they were helped by quite a few
dodgy calls from Kaplan in the match, where all the
50-50 calls seemed to go in the favour of the home team.
Franco van der Merwe scored a spectacular try for the
Lions, and Doppies la Grange scored our other try, while
Strydom added 2 penalties and a conversion, and Rose
added a penalty and conversion. The Cheetahs managed to
score three tries, all of them in the 1st half.
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Lions for Super 14 season-opener named
Feb
13, 2008 - Coach Eugene Eloff on Wednesday announced the
team for the Super 14 season-opener against the Cheetahs
in Bloemfontein this Saturday. One of the things that
went wrong with the Lions season in 2007 was the lack of
victories over South African teams, surely something
that Loffie would like to fix from the first game in
2008. The team is Louis Ludik, Dusty Noble, Jaco
Pretorius (v/c), Doppies la Grange, Rayno Benjamin,
Louis Strydom, Jano Vermaak, RW Kember, Franco van der
Merwe, Cobus Grobbelaar (c), Gerhard Mostert, Anton van
Zyl, Ross Geldenhuys, Willie Wepener, Heinke van der
Merwe.
Reserves: Gert-Andries van der Merwe, Gavin Williamson,
Alten Hulme, Joe van Niekerk, Chris Jonck, Earl Rose,
Jaco van Schalkwyk.
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Loffie announces Super 14 squad
Feb
7, 2008 - Eugene Eloff announced a squad of 29 players
for the 2008 Super 14 on Thursday. Ernst Joubert was
named as captain, with Jaco Pretorius as vice-captain.
Andre Pretorius, Jaque Fourie and Dewald Senekal were
listed as injured and not included in the squad at this
stage. The full squad is:
Loosehead Props: Heinke van der Merwe and JC Janse van
Rensburg
Hookers: Willie Wepener and Ethienne Reynecke
Tighthead Props: Eugene Maqwelana and Ross Geldenhuys
Locks: Anton van Zyl, Cobus Grobler, Gerhard Mostert and
Alten Hulme
Open Side Flankers: Cobus Grobler and RW Kember
Blind side Flankers: Ernst Joubert and Franco van der
Merwe
Number 8: Joe van Niekerk and Willem Alberts
Scrumhalfs: Jano Vermaak and Chris Jonck
Flyhalfs: Louis Strydom and Earl Rose
Left Wing: Rayno Benjamin
Inside Centres: Doppies la Grange and Thabang Molefe
Outside Centres: Jaco Pretorius and Jannie Boshoff
Right Wings: Dusty Noble and Wigan Pekeur
Fullbacks: Louis Ludik and Jaco van Schalkwyk
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Big win for Sharks in Durban warm-up match
Feb
6, 2008 - The Lions suffered a big loss in Durban
against a strong Sharks side in their Super 14 warm-up
match on Wednesday. The Sharks won 33-5 after leading
14-0 at the break, scoring 5 tries to 1 in the process.
Loffie started with much the same team that went down
against the Bulls on Thursday last week, perhaps
shielding his best players from further injury.
Hopefully Loffie has seen enough to be able to announce
the squad of 30 players that will play for the Lions in
this year's Super 14, and the squad announcement is
expected on Thursday.
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Auto & General announces Lions sponsorship
 Feb
4, 2008 - Auto & General Insurance announced the signing
of a three year naming rights sponsorship of the Super
14 Lions on Monday at the Saxon Hotel in Sandhurst,
Johannesburg. The deal is worth R30 million over the
next three years. Commenting on the deal, Leon Vermaak,
CEO of Auto & General, said: "We are proud to be
associated with the Super 14 Lions because as a team,
they embody what Auto & General believes have been the
key ingredients to it's own team's success: a positive
attitude, teamwork, passion, commitment, perseverance
and, a healthy competitive spirit."
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Bulls win in Windhoek
Feb
2, 2008 - The Bulls won the Super 14 warm-up match
against the Lions in Windhoek, Namibia on Saturday,
running out 28-14 winners and scoring 4 tries to 2. By
all accounts Jaco Pretorius was the best Lion on the
park, and he also scored both tries for the Lions, with
Louis Strydom and Chris Jonck adding a conversion each.
The Bulls tries were scored by Brian Habana, Gurthro
Steenkamp, Dewald Potgieter and Werner Kruger, with
Derick Hougaard converting all four.
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And the winners are...
Feb
1, 2008 - The 2008 double Season ticket competition,
that was sponsored by the GLRU, came to an
end yesterday, and I received a record 78 entries.
Unfortunately there can only be three winners, and the
three names that were drawn are:
Cathy Snowdon;
Rupert Nagel;
Ruben Olivier.
Congratulations to the three winners, hope you make good
use of the tickets, and hopefully you will witness the
Lions having a great season in the Super 14 and the
Currie Cup.
The competition question was: Against which team is
this year's Tri-Nations match at Ellis Park?
And the answer is: Australia
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Bulls beat Lions at Wits
Jan
31, 2008 -
The Bulls beat the Lions 32-24 in a Super 14 warm-up
match at Wits on Thursday. Both teams scored four tries,
with just the boot of Burton Francis the difference
between the teams. The Bulls dominated the first half
and were leading 25-7 at the break, with the Lions
playing much better in the 2nd half, with Earl Rose
making the big difference for the Lions when he came on
as a replacement. Chris Jonck(2), Roland Bernard and
Doppies la Grange scored the tries for the Lions. Lions
players that stood out: Earl Rose when he came on, Chris
Jonck, even though he played out of position in the 2nd
half, Wigan Pekeur, taking at least five high balls in
the game and looking good on attack, Ethienne Reynecke
and Thabang Molefe, while Wilhelm Koch and Roland
Bernard also played well.
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Lions for Bulls warm-up
game in Namibia named
Jan
31, 2008 -
The Lions team to play the Bulls in Namibia in a warm-up
match on Saturday was named on Thursday. The team
doesn't really show any surprises, obviously Loffie is
showing that he wants to stick to the tried and tested
players. The only newcomers are Eugene Maqwelena at
tighthead prop and Dusty Noble on the right wing.
The team is: Louis Ludik, Dusty Noble, Jaco Pretorius,
Doppies la Grange, Rayno Benjamin, Louis Strydom, Jano
Vermaak, Willem Alberts, Ernst Joubert(c), Cobus
Grobbelaar, Franco van der Merwe, Cobus Grobler, Eugene
Maqwelana, Willie Wepener, Heinke van der Merwe.
Reserves: JC Janse van Rensburg, Ethienne Reynecke, Ross
Geldenhuys, Wilhelm Koch, Gerhard Mostert, Chris Jonck,
Earl Rose, Thabang Molefe, Jaco van Schalkwyk, Michael
Killian.
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Lions for Bulls warm-up
game at Wits named
Jan
29, 2008 -
The Lions play their first warm-up game for the 2008
Super 14 against the Bulls at Wits University Rugby
grounds on Thursday 31 January. The game kicks off at
18:00, and entrance will be R20 per adult and R10 for
children under 12. The Lions team is: Earl Rose, Wigan
Pekeur, Jaco van Schalkwyk, Thabang Molefe, Heini
Gordon, Michael Killian, Chris Jonck, RW Kember, Wilhelm
Koch(c), Kaunda Ntunja, Gerhard Mostert, Cobus Grobler,
Gert Muller, Ethienne Reynecke, JC Janse van Rensburg.
Reserves: Gert-Andries van der Merwe, Gavin Williamson,
Alten Hulme, Charl du Plessis, Theo van Wyk, Roland
Bernard, Doppies la Grange, Dusty Noble.
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De Villiers named as new Bok coach
Jan
9, 2008 -
Peter de Villiers was named as the new Springbok coach
on Wednesday, replacing Jake White. De Villiers becomes
the first black coach of the Springboks and he was
picked from a shortlist that included three other candidates, Heyneke Meyer, Allistair
Coetzee and Chester Williams.
De Villiers won the IRB Under-21 title in Argentina in 2005 and finished second to the hosts in France a year later and last year coached the Emerging Springbok side to the IRB Nations Cup title in Romania. He also had two seasons coaching the Falcons in the Currie Cup.
His first test match in charge is against Wales in Bloemfontein on June 7.
I still can't believe that
Jake White, who steered the Springboks to World Cup
victory, was not retained as Bok coach, and I'm a bit
skeptical about the future of the Springboks from here
onwards.
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Lions Super 14 Provisional
Squad Announced
Jan
9, 2008 -
The 40 man
provisional Lions Super 14 squad for the 2008 season has
been named by coach Eugene Eloff, and is as follows (in
alphabetical order):
1. Alten Hulme
2. Andre Pretorius
3. Anton van Zyl
4. Chris Jonck
5. Cobus Grobbelaar
6. Cobus Grobler
7. Dewald Senekal
8. Doppies la Grange
9. Dusty Noble
10. Earl Rose
11. Ernst Joubert
12. Erwee Kember
13. Ethienne Reynecke
14. Eugene Maqwelana
15. Franco van der Merwe
16. Freddie van Zyl
17. Gavin Williamson
18. Gerhard Mostert
19. Gert Muller
20. Gert-Andries van der Merwe
21. Heini Gordon
22. Heinke van der Merwe
23. Jaco Pretorius
24. Jaco van Schalkwyk
25. Jannie Boshoff
26. Jano Vermaak
27. Jaque Fourie
28. JC Janse van Rensburg
29. Joe van Niekerk
30. Kaunda Ntunja
31. Louis Ludik
32. Louis Strydom
33. Michael Killian
34. Ryno Benjamin
35. Thabang Molefe
36. Theo van Wyk
37. Walter Venter
38. Wilhelm Koch
39. Willem Alberts
40. Willie Wepener
The final, 30 man squad, will be announced in early
February.
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Win 2008 Ellis Park season tickets
Dec
7, 2007 - The good folks at the Lions Rugby Union
supplied me with 3 double season tickets for Ellis Park
for the 2008 season. 3 Lucky visitors to this website
will each win one of these double season tickets by
answering an easy question on the
competition page. This
season ticket allows you to watch 6 Super 14 matches, 7
Currie Cup matches as well as 1 Tri-Nations test match,
as well as some other benefits as explained on the
competition page. Good Luck!
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