Finally we get to the game most of us have been waiting for. The battle for top spot on the log (at the time of writing, Friday afternoon, no other games had been played so I have no idea whether Province got 5 points and are currently leading the log?) is upon us and we will have a runaway leader should these two teams not draw this afternoon.
The Lions have had a great season so far, starting off strong and keeping it up until they lost their unbeaten record against Province last weekend. This week they are back at home and face a Sharks team that has had an up and down couple of weeks, from losing to Griquas in Kimberley, beating Province at Newlands and then not being able to score four tries against the Leopards at home last weekend.
This all points to a game where both teams will have nothing to lose and everything to gain and we can only hope for a spectacle much in the same vain as the Super Rugby contest these two teams played a few months ago.
Be seated at 17h00 for this game, it’s going to be a cracker.
Lions: 15. Jaco Taute, 14. Deon van Rensburg, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Alwyn Hollenbach, 11. Michael Killian, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Michael Bondesio, 8. Joshua Strauss (Captain), 7. Derick Minnie, 6. Cobus Grobbelaar, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Wikus van Heerden, 3. Pat Cilliers, 2. Bandise Maku, 1. JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16. Martin Bezuidenhout, 17. Jacobie Adriaanse, 18. Johan (Joe) Snyman, 19. Michael Rhodes, 20. Warren Whiteley, 21. Doppies la Grange, 22. Burton Francis
Sharks: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Sibusiso Sithole, 13 Stefan Terblanche, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Fred Michalak, 9 Charl McLeod, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Keegan Daniel (capt), 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Eugene van Staden, 18 Jandre Marais, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Jacques Botes, 21 Conrad Hoffmann, 22 Adrian Jacobs
Go Sharks!!!
Tough one to pick this…
Realy exited about this game…
GO SHARKS!!!!!!
Sharks to go top, and superior commentary on SW to that of this morning to be delivered.
OMW!!!!!!! Not Jaco peyper.
@klempie (Comment 4) :
@KSA Shark © (Comment 6) : Rich wasn’t up to scratch.
Peyper takes forever with the scrum calls.
Lions looking to run it.
Elton setting up a penalty for a ruck infringement.
@klempie (Comment 7) :
Bang through the middle. Good kick.
Lions 3 – 0 Sharks
5 mins
Damn good kick that.
Lions without the 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice captains…
Not a fan of Groblaar as captain…
@Franshark (Comment 11) : He knows I’m yanking his chain.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 13) : Agree.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 13) : for a guy that can kick only 30meters
@klempie (Comment 10) : ??? Conrad
@Franshark (Comment 17) :
LoL
That caught on…well it feels to me as that is his limit….worse than Percy….
@JarsonX (Comment 18) : Nevamind it’s Elton
Charl McLeod still has to prove why he is being played ahead of Hoffman.
@JarsonX (Comment 18) : Thanks.
@Franshark (Comment 17) :
Come on Lions….lets finish top of log after full round of games…
Sharks!!!
Eish….
Second goal kickable chance for the Lions….
Both team’s keeping possession and running the ball. Enterprising stuff.
Does brosnihan have a little phrase leaflet and then use that same leafllet for EVERY game?
He says the same stuff week after week.
@Hmmm (Comment 25) : a tree log… Should KSA show u again
Elton has a penalty for I’m not sure what.
Lions 6 – 0 Sharks
11 mins
@KSA Shark © (Comment 30) : Dude they’re rugby players.
Cut them some slack.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 30) :
How well do we do through the phases when mcleod gives brisk service????
@KSA Shark © (Comment 30) : And yet still gets the players’ names wrong.
Sharks strung some phases together until a forward pass was spotted.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 35) : Brisk. That is a grossly under-utilised word. I think I’ll try shoehorn it in somewhere.
@klempie (Comment 33) : Ex-players. They’re ‘professional’ commentators now.
@McLovin (Comment 36) : probably forgets to change the names on the leaflet.
@klempie (Comment 33) : Nope!!! He was a rugby player he is trying to be a commentator now.
@Franshark (Comment 31) :
I sent that to KSA…
And yes should we finish top of the log he should place it again…and then he can make a article out of it that they did not fall asleep as most would have expected…
@KSA Shark © (Comment 35) : @klempie (Comment 38) : All this talk about brisk(et) is giving me an appetite
@McLovin (Comment 39) : is/was…
My point is that their IQ is generally not that high. Needless to say, I didn’t play rugby at school. 
@Hmmm (Comment 41) :
Twice from a Sharks kick-off did Mvovo chance and did the catcher bump him off as if he was a tackle bag…
Lions front row goes down and we get a penalty.
@klempie (Comment 43) : Low IQ or not, Brosnihan is one of the worst commentators I’ve ever heard.
Sharks 1st chance at pulling back 3…
Not realising he is standing on the right of the scrum and gives the Sharks a penalty instead of giving it to the Lions like he has been for the whole game.
Lions 6 – 3 Sharks 17th min
Fred chips it over
Lions 6 – 3 Sharks
16 mins
@Hmmm (Comment 41) : Most expected Lions to be on top most of the time, Less have expected it from sharks to be so close… Rather FS and Griquas..
@klempie (Comment 43) : What sports do guys with IQs lower than rugby players play?
Peyper having a word with the front rows.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 49) :
Why hasn’t the log been updated?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 53) : Mofstok and cricket.
DUDE!?!?!?!?!?!?! it’s not them it’s you taking forever to call the engage!?!?!?!?!?!?
@KSA Shark © (Comment 49) : scary that Peyper has been made a test ref.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 53) :
KSA seems agitated….
I donno what that scrum was for…
Not a accidental offside as Jantjies was behind Taute and Taute never passed and if he did there is no way the ref could have seen that as that clashed for a split second….
Sharks win a lucky scrum penalty.
Lions 6 – 6 Sharks
19 mins
@KSA Shark © (Comment 58) : I thought I had lost sound because I was waiting so long for him to say pause.
Good kicks from both goal kickers so far…
Jantjes takes it to our 5m line before being brought down. It goes right through the hands, and Mapoe is over. TMO to rule but I’m pretty sure that’s a try.
@JarsonX (Comment 56) : Done.
Jantjes to convert from the touchline.
GREAT kick.
Lions 13 – 6 Sharks
22 mins
Minnie into the ruck from the side and Fred has a kick just outside the 22.
@klempie (Comment 61) :
Jantjies playing very well so far.
Sharks forwards are shading the Lions, but as usual our centres are creating diddly-squat.
Lions 13 – 6 Sharks
24 mins
@Big Fish (Comment 72) : Where’s Adi when you need him?
@klempie (Comment 74) : on the bench
Kom nou Haaie
Mapoe drags Mvovo 3 meters to score…and seconds from the kick-off the Sharks get a penalty back…
Mienie first losing the ball and then conceding the penalty….
@lostfish (Comment 75) : I know.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 76) :
LMAO….Peyper’s engeagement calls are ridiculous.
Louis: I hope you felt the pain of that tackle – what a stupid decision to run away from an overlap!
Lions looking good.
Sharks offside. Although I would say accidentally.
Jantjies from about 40m, more or less in front.
Over.
Lions 16 – 9 Sharks
30 mins
Looks like quite a few people at the stadium.
Were the tickets free?
@Big Fish (Comment 82) :
@McLovin (Comment 86) :
@McLovin (Comment 86) : No. The Sharks are playing.
Sharks up into the 22.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 89) : They should let the folks in Durbs know next time they’re playing there.
Jantjies just tried to tackle Daniel and got knocked back on his butt.
Ends with a penalty against a Shark going off his feet.
No structure on attack: what are Bosman and Oupa even doing there? Is Plumtree blind?
Lions fluff a massive chance to break the Sharks line.
@McLovin (Comment 91) :
Jantjies half a metre short.
Awesome late defence by the Sharks
Top quality play from Jantjies! BURNS Oupa and brought down by a brilliant tackle by Mvovo.
Lions are playing superb rugby. Sharks are playing 1980′s Bulls-style rugby – kick and drive.
Jantjes should have been at the RWC.
@Big Fish (Comment 99) : Lions are playing 1980′s Sharks-style rugby.
Is it halftime yet?
Is McLeod playing for the Lions????
Penalty against McLeod for being offside at the scrum.
Jantjies to kick from 38m.
HALF TIME
Lions 19 – 9 Sharks
HT Lions 19 – 9 Sharks
Where’s the French magic gone.
@klempie (Comment 101) :
You are gonna bring tears to my eyes.
When was the last time the Sharks played beautiful, Banana Boys rugby? Not since Plumtree came to the fore, that’s for sure.
At the end of the day, this is just a watered-down CC, but the kind of rugby we play nowadays is what I really mind.
Same basic errors as against the Leopards last week.
Sharks cannot put two phases together..
@Big Fish (Comment 108) : This will really make you cry then… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUmkszso4Pw
@klempie (Comment 101) : Where you born yet in the 80′s?
@lostfish (Comment 110) :
Seen that before.
Those were the days – when our entire backline threatened the opposition. With Muir and Thompson in the centres, we created plenty.
@McLovin (Comment 111) : Only just. 3 months earlier and it’d have been Saturday Night Live and Bee Gees territory for me.
@Big Fish (Comment 112) : I long for those days of rugby. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
@klempie (Comment 113) :
@klempie (Comment 113) :
Really struggling to watch this shit!
Lions certainly love their ‘high-fives’.
Has the 2nd half started yet
@lostfish (Comment 114) :
Not gonna happen while we have Plumtree…
If we only get some ball to Sithole or Mvovo, they can create magic.
Elton put a penalty through.
Lions 22 – 9 Sharks
48 mins
@McLovin (Comment 118) : They have so little to celebrate, that when they do, they DO.
Ludik had all the time to pass there, WHY didn’t he?
Lions just killed us with that maul.
@Big Fish (Comment 120) : The ball isn’t going past Bosman
I’ve seen enough. Switching on my Xbox to play my rugby game!
Jantjies with another penalty. sigh
Lions 25 – 9 Sharks
52 mins
We are getting dominating in the breakdowns – so why not move the ball wide instead of running into contact each time?
Plumtree’s insistence on neither playing a fetching open-sider nor using the 2-man pod to ensure a clean is costing us.
Would be great to see some innovation from the Sharks.
Peyper and Jantjies are an Awesome combination.
Ai
If I had something better to do……..
Send the entire bench on, it can’t be any worse.
Sharks lineout on the Lions 22.
Louis is off, and Adi is on.
Burden bundled into touch 2m out
Quick question, Where did Bosman buy his Springbok caps??
@JarsonX (Comment 135) : Hout Bay Fish Market from Snorre at his previous job.
Shar;s putting some phases together here.
Penalties conceded
Lions 6
Sharks 13
At least we are winning something.
Keegs 30cm short!
15 phases and they fuck it up.
Stefan terblanche TRY!!
@JarsonX (Comment 135) : White picked him at flyhalf as a 20 year old.
Was billed as the next Larkham.
Great stuff there supersport. Showing a replay instead of the try.
Finally some French Flair!
No Joel the tap and go didn’t catch the lions unawares, it caught supersport unawares.
I assume a quick tap was taken cos Oupa is over.
Fred magic as he converts as well.
Lions 25 – 16 Sharks
62 mins
@McLovin (Comment 142) : White made many mistakes.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 141) : Don’t know whether I should
or 
about that.
@lostfish (Comment 143) : they should never have been doing email while videoing the game.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 145) : Yes, Oubaas. The statement was certainly dripping with irony.
@lostfish (Comment 147) :
@KSA Shark © (Comment 145) :
@KSA Shark © (Comment 149) : fixed
@lostfish (Comment 147) : Not one of his best selections.
Bosman has a kick at halfway.
Hopefully Bosman does one good thing this game and gets this kick.
WHAT A KICK!! Finally Bosman contributes!1
Lions 25 – 19 Sharks
68 mins
So Bosman is good for something!
Good kick by Bosman puts us 6 behind.
Brosnihan believes it was excuisite by michalak??????
Lucky kick
@lostfish (Comment 153) :
Bondesio throws away a certain 7 points.
Bondesio has hurt his ego with a poor pass and stays down.
Sharks run it out of their in goal area.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 163) :
@KSA Shark © (Comment 159) : Brosnihan still believes in the tooth fairy as well.
Can Plumtree not see how much more dangerous we are with Adi at 13? We have a slim hope here.
Can we beat the Bulls next week?
Peyper can NEVER accuse a player of slowing the game down. he does enough of it with his engage sequence.
@JarsonX (Comment 168) : By plenty. Bulls are vrot.
@KSA Shark © (Comment 163) :
Chadwick falls down in the scrum. Jantjies setting up the killer blow.
How much time left?
Lions 28 – 19 Sharks
74 mins
If these commentators got penalised R1 for every mistake they make, they will owe Supersport a huge salary at the end of the month.
When last did we manage a losing bonus point? Last years S14?
Plum clears the bench.
Chippy Hoffman decides to do the two step this week rather than chipping everything, and Daniel feels the pain for him.
Deysel’s pass gets intercepted to end a great few moments of play.
Lions picking and going. 79 mins.
Hawera Cup can be renamed to the Mitchell Cup.
Well done Lions.
Played well.
Deserved winners.
Game over. Lions have a penalty to end the game. Same as Aus.
Good result for Province this.
Means they remain 2nd on the log.
FT Lions 28 – 19 Sharks
Well done Mitch.
Lions opening up a bit of a gap at the top of the log.
Disappointed is not the word.
Plumtree and the Sharks have some serious work to do. Sharks are struggling with the basics and the backline is just rubbish.
@McLovin (Comment 184) :
very true.
That was quite a good game. High intensity. The Lions were full value for their win. They were very selfish on the ground for part of the game, trying and succeeding at getting their paws on the tackled ball too many times.
Ja well, I admit that the loss is partly due to some basic errors from the youngsters (such as Coetzee trying to do too much and Herbst running away from support), however, the lack of imagination in the gameplan, and the bafflingly stupid selections in midfield are all Plumtree’s fault.
Nice Bok advert for the Boks on SS. I wish they could play like that
@lostfish (Comment 193) :
Quite a rare moment for Cobus G, giving a winners interview.
Elton man of the match.
@Big Fish (Comment 192) : I agree 100%. Sharks lacked imagination, and it was only when Adi came on that we even featured. Bummer guys, but we got to get some BMT for the bulls game
Sharks have their work cut out for them this week! Would have been nice to put a little space on the table with a win, but it is not to be! Comon boys!
After 7 weeks of rugby Lions still on top of the log…
Sharks gonna have a dif Bulls side…but still think they can do it…
Good show my Lions and it was good to see we turned up in our masses at the Park
Lions breached the Sharks def many times…
From the kick off the Lions broke through Mvovo 3 times when we supposed to put pressure…
Lions broke through the Sharks loosies a few times in midfield…
Mapoe dragged Mvovo 3/4 meters with no space to score comfortably…
The forwards broke through some tackles in general play…
And there were too many gaps besides that…would be a lot tighter had Sharks defended better…
Well…the second round is going to be even tougher…
I am even more happy after this game that PdV selected Odwa as opposed Mvovo…
After this game I am even more happy that PdV took Odwa as opposed to Mvovo…