Crusaders v Lions
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Lions
15 Ruan Combrinck; 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Elton Jantjies, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi; 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Nic Groom; 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1Sti Sithole.
Reserves: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Nathan Mcbeth, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Wilhelm Vd Sluys, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Franco Naude, 23 Tyrone Green.
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@Machpants I agree with @taniwharugby and hope someone checks with airlines whether Marx has really left the country ...
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Crusaders
1 Joe Moody
2 Codie Taylor
3 Micheal Alaalatoa
4 Quinten Strange
5 Sam Whitelock (c)
6 Whetukamokamo Douglas
7 Billy Harmon
8 Kieran Read
9 Mitchell Drummond
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 George Bridge
12 Ryan Crotty (vc)
13 Braydon Ennor
14 Sevu Reece
15 David HaviliReserves
16 Ben Funnell
17 Harry Allan
18 Oliver Jager
19 Mitchell Dunshea
20 Jordan Taufua
21 Ereatara Enari
22 Mitchell Hunt
23 Ngane PunivaiIn the forwards, Codie Taylor returns to start at hooker and, with both Scott Barrett and Matt Todd on All Blacks rest, Quinten Strange and Billy Harmon have been given an opportunity to start against the Lions. Mitch Dunshea has also been named in the match day team, providing cover in the number 19 jersey. Mitch Drummond will start at halfback for this game and Ereatara Enari takes a spot in the reserves. There is a reshuffle in the backline with George Bridge returning to the left wing, Braydon Ennor moving in from the wing to the midfield and Sevu Reece lining up on the right wing. Finally, 20 year-old Ngane Punivai is set to make his debut for the Crusaders on Friday night, having been named on the bench for this clash with the Lions.
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@Chris-B said in Crusaders v Lions:
Nor Romano, nor Bateman.
Or Carter, given he is now in ABs frame....
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@Tim said in Crusaders v Lions:
What's the Fern consensus on Ngane Punivai?
It will be interesting to see how he goes. He's only played a few games at provincial level but he looked okay from what I can recall. Didn't look like a player who was destined to be a 50 test cap All Black but didn't look out of place either. From memory he was a bit lanky, but wiki says he's 191cm and 100kg so that's a decent size for a 20 year old winger. He's going to struggle to get significant game time at the Crusaders given their wing depth at present.
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@booboo said in Crusaders v Lions:
Is Romero injured?
I don't think so.
I think his (continual) non-selection very much points that he's playing his final Super season, so they're focusing on developing Strange (and to a lesser extent Dunshea). Which is somewhat concerning from an AB perspective, because I'm inclined to think he's still among the best five locks in NZ. He was huge for Canterbury in last year's NPC.
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@Chris-B said in Crusaders v Lions:
@booboo said in Crusaders v Lions:
Is Romero injured?
I don't think so.
I think his (continual) non-selection very much points that he's playing his final Super season, so they're focusing on developing Strange (and to a lesser extent Dunshea). Which is somewhat concerning from an AB perspective, because I'm inclined to think he's still among the best five locks in NZ. He was huge for Canterbury in last year's NPC.
Indeed. Hence my query.
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Some guys are just made of glass. Whiteley out of tonight's game.
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saders looking to run it...
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Is Douglas a WC option? playing so much better than Read. seriously!
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@98blueandgold No.
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Still laughing at the footage of the Lions #8 going flying backwards.
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@African-Monkey You sure :)?
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Is the trouble that Sevu Reece got himself into with his partner last year along with his offshore contract being torn up spell good news for NZ rugby moving forward..quick,can step,got offload factor ,can tackle and man alive is strong with ball in hand..close to the full package..
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@Steven-Harris said in Crusaders v Lions:
Is the trouble that Sevu Reece got himself into with his partner last year along with his offshore contract being torn up spell good news for NZ rugby moving forward..quick,can step,got offload factor ,can tackle and man alive is strong with ball in hand..close to the full package..
He's thrown his lot in with Fiji already hasn't he?
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@MajorRage Crusaders and Waikato no longer part of NZR?
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@taniwharugby said in Crusaders v Lions:
@MajorRage Crusaders and Waikato no longer part of NZR?
International honours I mean. Sure I remember reading somewhere him wanting to play for Fiji if the opportunity was to arise.
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@MajorRage hasโnt Played for Fiji yet.my bet is he will throw in his lot with NZ rugby