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British & Irish Lions versus South Africa A match preview
By Josh Raisey
Following the British & Irish Lions' second win in four days over the Cell C Sharks on Saturday, they now turn their attention to a South Africa A side that are full of World Cup winners for their fifth match of the tour and their fourth on South African soil.
When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 19:00 (BST) on July 14th at Cape Town Stadium.
It will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Supersport in South Africa, Stan Sport in Australia and Sky in New Zealand.
Line-ups
British & Irish Lions
15. Anthony Watson
14. Louis Rees-Zammit
13. Chris Harris
12. Bundee Aki
11. Josh Adams
10. Dan Biggar
9. Conor Murray (c)
1. Wyn Jones
2. Ken Owens
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Maro Itoje
5. Iain Henderson
6. Josh Navidi
7. Tom Curry
8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Mako Vunipola
18. Zander Fagerson
19. Adam Beard
20. Tadhg Beirne
21. Sam Simmonds
22. Gareth Davies
23. Elliot Daly
South Africa A
15 – Willie le Roux
14 – Cheslin Kolbe
13 – Lukhanyo Am (c)
12 – Damian de Allende
11 – Sbu Nkosi
10 – Morné Steyn
9 – Faf de Klerk
1 – Steven Kitshoff
2 – Joseph Dweba
3 – Trevor Nyakane
4 – Eben Etzebeth
5 – Franco Mostert
6 – Marco van Staden
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit
8 – Jasper Wiese
Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx
17 – Coenie Oosthuizen
18 – Vincent Koch
19 – Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
20 – Rynhardt Elstadt
21 – Herschel Jantjies
22 – Jesse Kriel
23 – Damian Willemse
24 – Kwagga Smith
25 – Elton Jantjies
Head-to-head
The Lions have never lost to South Africa A across their five encounters, but the two sides drew the last time they met in 2009.
1955: Lions 15 - 12 South Africa A (Junior Springboks)
1962: Lions 16 - 11 South Africa A (Junior Springboks)
1980: Lions 17 - 6 South Africa A (Junior Springboks)
1997: Lions 51 - 22 South Africa A (Emerging Springboks)
2009: Lions 13 - 13 South Africa A (Emerging Springboks)
Match odds from Bet365
Bet365 have the Lions as 7/10 favourites to win this match.*
Use bonus code RUGBYPASS and Get Up to £100 in Bet Credits**
Prediction
With the Test series drawing ever closer, Jim Hamilton feels time is running out for players to impress Gatland. He said: "With what has been a disjointed series so far we are all hoping that South Africa A offer a real strong test against the Lions, especially up front as we are less than two weeks from the Test matches themselves.
"For some players this will be the last opportunity to stake a claim to Warren Gatland and the other coaches for a place in the Test 23."
*Odds accurate as of 13/07/21. BeGambleAware.org 18+ Gamble Responsibly
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Latest Comments
Hi Nick. Thanks for your +++ ongoing analysis. Re Vunivalu, He’s been benched recently and it will be interesting to see what Kiss does with him as we enter the backend of SRP. I’m still not sold.
Go to commentsIn the fine tradition of Irish rugby, Leinster cheat well and for some reason only known to whoever referees them, they are allowed to get away with it every single game. If teams have not got the physicality up front to stop them getting the ball, they will win every single game. They take out players beyond the ruck and often hold them on the ground. Those that are beyond the ruck and therefore offside, hover there to cause distraction but also to join the next ruck from the side thereby stopping the jackal. The lineout prior to the second try on Saturday. 3 Leinster players left the lineout before the ball was thrown and were driving the maul as soon as the player hit the ground and thereby getting that valuable momentum. They scrummage illegally, with the looshead turning in to stop the opposing tighthead from pushing straight and making it uncomfortable for the hooker. The tighthead takes a step and tries to get his opposite loosehead to drop the bind. Flankers often ‘move up’ and actually bind on the prop and not remain bound to the second row. It does cause chaos and is done quickly and efficiently so that referees are blinded by the illegal tactics. I am surprised opposition coaches when they meet referees before games don’t mention it. I am also surprised that they do not go to the referees group and ask them to look at the tactics used and referee them properly. If they are the better team and win, fair play but a lot of their momentum is gained illegally and therefore it is not a level playing field.
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