Chiefs vs Lions

sparky

Excellent last twenty minutes comeback from the Chiefs. I thought the Lions backrow were outstanding.

Duluth

Bones

@sparky well picked!

sparky

@Bones Tough for the Chiefs without Retallick, Cane and Harris. I think Whiteley would have been kept quieter if any of those had been playing.

Yeahtheboys

I reckon Ta’avao starting loosehead for the World Cup final?

Machpants

@Yeahtheboys match fixing ring?

Yeahtheboys

@Machpants nah it’s all Colin Coopers fault I feel bad for Angus like he got shoved there and just left out there to look like an idiot playing a position he’s not used to

Crazy Horse

How hard can it be to change sides in a scrum? "Ooh I am used to putting my other arm around the hooker. This is way too hard!" Bless the wee fatties. No wonder they can't get the chicks.

Stargazer

I don't know what the rules are around naming match day line-ups and making changes to them before games, but if this is true, that's at least really poor sportsmanship from the Lions.

Lions admit to conning Chiefs with late changes

Cape Town - The Lions have revealed that they deliberately made late changes to their starting team before facing the Chiefs in Hamilton last week.

Springbok duo Malcolm Marx and Elton Jantjies were initially named on the bench for the match but were added to the starting team shortly before kick-off.

Marx was his ever-impressive self in the No 2 jersey, while Jantjies starred at inside centre as the Lions claimed a 23-17 victory.

Lions CEO Rudolf Straeuli told Netwerk24 that it was always their plan to start with Marx and Jantjies.

"It was a tactical move to announce the team like that because we wanted the Chiefs to believe they were not going to play. With Malcolm on the bench, the Chiefs opted to rest some of their heavy forwards. With him in the starting team we could take them on at scrum time and it worked well. The foundation for our victory was laid up front," Straeuli said.

The Chiefs named a starting XV without All Blacks duo Brodie Retallick and Sam Cane.

The Lions will however be without Marx for this Friday's clash against the Crusaders in Christchurch as he'll be rested in line with SA Rugby's policy to rest Springboks during Super Rugby.

Jantjies could be back at flyhalf as Gianni Lombard has returned to South Africa with a knee injury.

The Lions' other option at pivot is to play Shaun Reynolds.

The men from Johannesburg will remain without head coach Swys de Bruin, who has returned home to South Africa due to stress. Conditioning coach Ivan van Rooyen has taken over the head coaching duties on an interim basis.

Friday’s clash is scheduled for 09:35 (SA time).

Bones

@Stargazer really? I can't see it as an issue at all. You've got to beat the team put in front of you still - plus, was it a requirement for the Lions to name their team first anyway?

Stargazer

Yes, really. Indeed, you play what's in front of you, and no, they don't have to name the team first. But they have to name the team that is meant to play. It's the intent of their cheating that bothers me.

nzzp

@Stargazer said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Yes, really. Indeed, you play what's in front of you, and no, they don't have to name the team first. But they have to name the team that is meant to play. It's the intent of their cheating that bothers me.

It's about honesty. In real life you just can't lie without consequences. Omission is fine, but once you say something it's got to have a basis in truth.

It's like that league player who had a busted shoulder a couple of years ago. His team lies about the injury, and it wasn't a great look. There's a fuzzy line with interpretations, but setting out to lie and actively mislead does not sure well with me.

If we don't like diving and conning the referee, how can we tolerate this?

Toddy

But we do enjoy it when our team 'plays to the ref'. It's only offside if it's called by the ref'. It's only off your feet if called by the ref'. Where is the line?

Duluth

Are the Lions telling the truth now?

They named a side, the coach goes home under unusual circumstances, the new coach puts out a different side.

Is this story just covering for internal conflict?

Stargazer

@Duluth https://www.rugbypass.com/news/admission-of-stress-related-illness-by-lions-coach-highlights-the-toll-pressure-can-take

Yeetyaah

I agree with the play what's infront of you outlook on this issue, but I also think it's bad sportsmanship. At the end of the day it doesn't matter too much coz the Chiefs played like shit and Harris and Retallick were both injured not rested so it doesn't have an impact anyway.

taniwharugby

@Duluth did anyone really see Marx get on the plane?

There must be rules around naming of the squad, otherwise why do it externally, why not just say this is our 23...

Higgins

@Duluth said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Are the Lions telling the truth now?

They named a side, the coach goes home under unusual circumstances, the new coach puts out a different side.

Is this story just covering for internal conflict?

Almost has a "match fixing" ring about it. Wonder if the gambling agancies have detected any unusual betting patterns on the match?

Bones

@Stargazer @nzzp what about dummy runners or dummy passes? They're a tad dishonest eh, we should probably ban them.

nzzp

@Bones said in Chiefs vs Lions:

@Stargazer @nzzp what about dummy runners or dummy passes? They're a tad dishonest eh, we should probably ban them.

Nope it's on a spectrum. Gray areas are gray... Deliberate diving is a different thing altogether. Kind of like blood gate... That shit isn't sportsmanship at all

The Silver Fern

Chiefs vs Lions