Match thread

antipodean

@Bones said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Fucking hell, how was that guy even close to being on his feet. That was ridiculous.

Yeah that was terrible from the ref.

Donsteppa

If MMac could kick from the right hand side of the field, and if Wainui could turn and run within the same phase the Chiefs could even be ahead..

And back live - if the Chiefs would try not to kick the fucking thing away to nowhere when they finally get the ball....

Damo

Why would Weber kick turnover ball away 10 points down with 8 to play? Makes no sense at all.

Donsteppa

@Damo said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Why would Weber kick turnover ball away 10 points down with 8 to play? Makes no sense at all.

One of those moments where the TV is suddenly in danger from flying objects...

Damo

@Donsteppa said in Chiefs vs Lions:

@Damo said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Why would Weber kick turnover ball away 10 points down with 8 to play? Makes no sense at all.

One of those moments where the TV is suddenly in danger from flying objects...

I reckon. Turnover ball is about the best ball you can get to attack with, and Weber just lobbed it back to the opposition.

Donsteppa

20 - 15 with the kick to come....

Stargazer

Great kick from Mmac! Another try! C'mon !

Fucken ref. Let's time tick away while they check but refuses to turn time off.

Damo

Ref missed an awfully illegal turnover in the leadup to that try. I haven't been watching all that closely, but this ref seems to have made a few dubious breakdown calls in the parts that I have watched.

Stargazer

And then the Lions are slowing it down, too.

Donsteppa

Ref being as lazy as the Lions, running down the clock.

Toddy

@Damo yep, was an absolute shocker. Right in front of him too.

Dumb option from Elton. Chiefs can get the ball back.

Shocking kick from Marty. He seemed to go before his team mates were ready. No reason to do that.

Yeetyaah

Fuck me what a joke. Chiefs only turned up for 20 minutes of the game. Hate blaming the ref but fuck me he was shit.

Donsteppa

FFS. If only the Chiefs has fronted in the first 55 minutes...

Damo

@hydro11 said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Dumb option from Elton. Chiefs can get the ball back.

Incredibly dumb. He should have missed and then taken the full minute to kick the PK. No matter, but it was not clever.

Stargazer

Agreed the Chiefs had a poor first half, but the Lions didn't deserve this win. Dodgy tries and other dodgy calls gave them the advantage.

antipodean

@Yeetyaah said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Fuck me what a joke. Chiefs only turned up for 20 minutes of the game. Hate blaming the ref but fuck me he was shit.

Wasn't the best refereeing performance, but had he got every decision correct, the Chiefs still deserved to lose.

antipodean

@Stargazer said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Agreed the Chiefs had a poor first half, but the Lions didn't deserve this win. Dodgy tries and other dodgy calls gave them the advantage.

Did we watch the same game? The Lions' defence was excellent, the Chiefs threw away ball in the first half and didn't have a set piece.

Nepia

Warren Whitely didn't actually answer any of the questions in that interview. :grinning_face:

Stargazer

@antipodean Their defence was great, but not their attack. I think a draw would have been the right outcome.

KiwiMurph

Lions deserved to win. Good game.

Tordah

Game of three-and-one- quarters - Chiefs were shit in the first 60 and mostly great for the last 20, Lions the other way around. I reckon with a proper set piece in that first half Chiefs would have won rather tidily. Good win for the Lions on the road, I can't begrudge Warren Whiteley any wins, he seems proper nice

Nepia

@KiwiMurph said in Chiefs vs Lions:

Lions deserved to win. Good game.

Yep, Chiefs left it until too late to start playing decent footy.

Donsteppa

Gutted, but the right result. Can’t complain about a loss when it takes the injection of the reserves bench for a team to start playing rugby.

sparky

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

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.

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

@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.

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?