Super Rugby returns to Growthpoint Kings Park after a one-week break, with the high-riding Sharks still topping the South African conference with a game in hand over their rivals today.
The Lions will go all-out to avoid a second successive defeat, which would enable the Sharks to establish a healthy gap at hte top of the standings. Will Jake White’s team – with all their Boks – be able to withstand the pressure and record another good win?
Find out at 19h10.
Cell C Sharks: 15. SP Marais, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Paul Jordaan, 12. Francois Steyn, 11. Lwazi Mvovo, 10. Patrick Lambie, 9. Cobus Reinach, 8. Ryan Kankowski, 7. Willem Alberts, 6. Marcell Coetzee, 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4. Anton Bresler, 3. Jannie du Plessis, 2. Bismarck du Plessis (Captain), 1. Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16. Kyle Cooper, 17. Dale Chadwick, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Stephan Lewies, 20. Jean Deysel, 21. Charl McLeod, 22. Heimar Williams, 23. Sibusiso Sithole
Lions: 15 Marnitz Boshoff, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Deon van Rensburg, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Chrysander Botha, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Franco Mostert, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 20 Willie Britz, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 JW Jonker, 23 Coenie van Wyk.

Go Lions!!!
Pat Lambie is out sick.
Frans Steyn to 10, Heimar Williams will start at 12. Fred Z on the bench
@robdylan (Comment 2) : Poor Jantjies. 😀
Jammer vir Lambie en my FL…
Where can I watch this online?! 😥
@SeanyJMc (Comment 5) : vipbox.tv
@SeanyJMc (Comment 5) :http://www.bestsportgo.tv/20140308/vv-764815–531a54e2bb67e4.52654133.html
I’m not sure of the stream quality. My tablet can’t do Flash.
Kick off by Steyn
@robdylan (Comment 2) : Don’t know how to feel about that
@vanmartin (Comment 9) : We have too see…
@Franshark (Comment 10) : Yip
What a tackle boytjie…
Some great tackles so far!
Try Jordaan
WHAHOOOOOOO
Wow!!!!
7 – 0
🙂
Converted Steyn
Sharks 7
Lions 0
8min
Amazing try resulting from a crunching tackle from the Bone Collector
Sweeeeet!!! 😎
Alberts jou lekker ding
Penalty Boshoff
Lions 3
Sharks 7
12min
Any news on Lambie? SS panel said tick bite fever, that doesn’t sound very good
Line outs looking good…
Steyn losing the ball in the tackle for the 2nd time.
@Die Kriek (Comment 23) : will be good to go next week
Steyn needs to control better into contact, second time he’s lost it in the tackle
@Die Kriek (Comment 23) : I had the same thought…
I was hoping to make up some points on my super bru fantacy league. But no lambie. So mvovo and steyn must just make up with 2 tries each!
Humidity extremely high tonight
Our back three were found out with that last kick. Hope that’s the last we see of it.
7 – 6
back three was on attack and nobody covering
Penalty Boshoff
Lions 6
Sharks 7
16min
6 points handed to the Lions on a plate.
Fokkit Steyn!
Lions I think will be pretty much competitive for the first 50/60min…but after that I cant see the Sharks not scoring a BP win
scrums looking good
10 – 6
Long distance PG Steyn
Penalty Steyn
Sharks 10
Lions 6
21min
Very good forward work at maul time
Great counter rucking.
13 – 6
PG Steyn
Another penalty by Steyn
Sharks 13
Lions 6
24min
Great kicking by Steyn
Kanko and Mvovo looking good
Ag no man…. what the hell was that kick for
All that momentum undone by useless kicking FFS!!!
poor kick by Reinach
Our lineouts really improved in 2014
Steyn still looking a bit deurmekaar at times but its getting better.
With kicks like that I could forgive Steyn the knock ons
Marcell having an awesome game…
We’re so dominant with ball in hand, yet we’re not dominating the game like we should.
Nice Reinacht once again kick the ball away when we on Attack!!!
Why allow Lions to continue playing when there is a report against them? Serious question.
16 – 6
PG Steyn!! 🙂
58m
Penalty Steyn
Sharks 16
Lions 6
34min
What a kick by Steyn!
Steyn jou kanon poot!
What a kick… I said it…. its happening… Steyn is going to have a great year…
Make way JDV. Steyn is back.
Sounds like our boy is back… 😎
16 – 9
Bossie PG
Penalty Boshoff
Lions 9
Sharks 16
36min
Why do we try our utmost to keep the Lions in the game?
9 is the scrum half Peyper!!Die ref is so toe soos n plastic pop se poephol!
Reinach!!!!!!
21 – 9
Try Reinach
Wys hom Cobus!!!
Your comments Uli?
And Reinach makes up for that stupid kick of before…
Running like his dad
Reinach makes up for those kak kicks. 😀
23 – 9
Converted Steyn
Sharks 23
Lions 9
39min
Someone should tell Botha that Jaco went past his left hand side. Lol
Halftime
Sharks 23
Lions 9
23 – 9
HT 🙂
Shit, now I have to go to my neighbours for dinner and I can’t record the rest of the game. Bloody Sky red button! 😥
Our loosies were great in that first half. They’re making life difficult for the Lions.
I like the Cobus and Steyn combo. Pat and Charl suit each other while Cobus and Steyn allow great new options.
Fransies kicking has surprised me tonight. I’m not used to him being that accurate.
Reminds me of his 2007 form
Nice crowd tonight …
Jantjies starts the 2nd half
If Fred were to come on would it be his SR debut?
Yes Vanmartin
Good kick Bossie
Our egos are back nobody off loading
Bresler & Jannie off
Lewies & Adriaanse on
Odders !!!!!
28 – 9
Try Odwa
Yes yes yes….
Lekker Odders!! Well read by Marcel
30 – 9
Conv. Steyn
Converted
Sharks 30
Lions 9
51min
Our loose trio been pretty GOOD
Bring on McLoed to temper Faf!
Massive kick from Steyn…
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 100) : Cobus is actually having a great game so far, I’d leave him on for a few more minutes
Mcloed? New player?
Beast and Reinach off. Both played well.
Great McLoed will pick up the pace
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 100) : And you get your wish
Who’s this Mcloed?
Brilliant kick !
Deysel warming up
Lekker kanko
Aaah oooh….
Kanko is back. Good competition for the Bok 8 shirt.
Steyn saving us some blushes
Is it me or is Frans Steyn a bit leaner than last year?
@AP8 (Comment 114) : a lot leaner
Sithole to right wing
Pretty awesome defensive work
Why on earth would the Lions try a grubber??
Kanko yellow
Ag nee shooters
Try Faf de Klerk and yellow card to Kankofski
Haal v Peyper af.
One more for the BP right?
Did pyper leave one conyact lens at home tonight … turning this game into a bot of a farce
Converted
Lions 16
Sharks 30
65min
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 122) : Why? Most of his incorrect calls have gone our way
Did pyper leave one conyact lens at home tonight … turning this game into a bot of a farce … every marginal call has gone against the sharks
@byron (Comment 127) : No it hasn’t
@byron (Comment 127) : Not really no, most have been for us
Try Deon van Rensburg!!!!!!
30 – 21
Wasn’t that obstruction?
Converted
Lions 23
Sharks 30
70min
Mutley is seker a drunk shark fan
@Mutley (Comment 130) : Congrats, Boshoff should perhaps have started at 10?
Mvovo down
Thats a yellow .. proves my point
@byron (Comment 137) : Nope not a yellow and it does not disprove that most earlier calls went our way
That kick deserves a try
Not saying he’s against us, but Peyper is slowly losing this game
Does Bobby Skinstad realise he’s saying words out loud?
Yellow Corne Fourie
@MerckZ (Comment 141) : 😀
Well done SP
Game growing really sloppy
Bad place and time to try a funny move
Every scrum … lions pushing in
Come on sharks..
@byron (Comment 147) : Oh please shut it
Superb tackle from Sbu!
35 – 23
Bonus point try !
Coetzee get the bonus point
BP try!!!
Yes.. Marcell!!!
And just reward for Coetzee
BONUS POINT!!! That’s a forwards try if ever there was one
Converted
Sharks win 37-23
Congratz Sharks
Laser kick from Frans Steyn
And Fransie kicks a beauty
@Mutley (Comment 158) : Thanks Mutley. Your team continue to surprise though. Great to see the Lions play so competitively!
Yoh. Fransie sounds pretty emotional?
Pay attention now Byron 😀
@vanmartin (Comment 126) : Still he is way below standard
@vanmartin (Comment 163) :
Being at the game I didnt exactly have the benifit of tv replays that you may have. What was evident, and its an opinion so give me some leyway before hangimg me out to dry … is that pyper missed a loy and let a lot go. A team who were so dominant in the scrums dont become so poor within 5 minutes of the start of the second half. The lions got away with murder with the loose head scrumming in.
I dont know how evident it was on tv but the crowd were getting incredibly frustrated with the ref. From the standd it seemed he got a number of desisions blatently wrong … ill watch the tv replay tomorrow and I might have a d8fferent opinion then
He also seemed miles away from play whenever there was a break
@KILLER SHARK (Comment 164) : @byron (Comment 165) : The fact that Peyper’s officiating was very poor was never in question. It was a question of who gained greater benefit from his incorrect calls and whether Watermeyer played Mvovo in the air and deserved a yellow for it.
” A team who were so dominant in the scrums dont become so poor within 5 minutes of the start of the second half.”
The Sharks took their foot off the gas in the second half, that was very clear. Whether we like it or not, they allowed themselves to become poor. Also remember that the Sharks weren’t exactly innocent when it came to scrumming in.
“I dont know how evident it was on tv but the crowd were getting incredibly frustrated with the ref.”
No surprise there, that’s the way all home crowds react with decisions not going their team’s way.
Lost all my respect for Ackermann and the lions , they just made that I won’t be supporting them again , you want to like them but they just make it impossible to do so