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Lions vs Lions: Gatland's men to face old foe from 2009 tour
By RugbyPass
The Lions have revealed their squad to face British and Irish Lions on Saturday. The South African franchise revealed a 26-man squad, featuring Springboks Ruan Dreyer, Jannie du Plessis and Jaco Kriel.
Du Plessis played against the Lions in their previous tour of South Africa in 2009, albeit in Sharks' colours. Despite making his debut two years previously, the tighthead missed out on Springbok selection that series, with captain John Smit favoured in the number three jersey in all three of the Tests against the touring side.
Now 38, the veteran will no doubt fancy one final shot at famous red jerseys.
Flyhalf Jordan Hedrikse has returned from his recent debut with the Junior South Africa side.
The Lions suffered a 10-39 defeat to Pumas in Round One of the Currie Cup.
However, the men from Joburg hit back in style with a 38-32 win against the Western Province last week.
The Lions will face the British and Irish Lions on Saturday at Ellis Park.
Lions 26-man squad: Pieter Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Jan du Plessis, Jordan Hendrikse, Francke Horn, David Kriel, Jacobus Kriel, Sibahle Maxwane, Nathan McBeth, Reinhard Nothnagel, Burger Odendaal, Marthinus Pelser, Manuel Rass, Carlu Sadie, Sibusiso Sangweni, Ruben Schoeman, Sithembisu Sithole, Dillon Smit, Hans Straeuli, Emmanuel Tshituka, Vincent Tshituka, Jamba Ulengo, Morne van den Berg, EW Viljoen, Gerrit Visagie, Frederik Zeilinga
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Latest Comments
I thought you meant in europe. Because all of the reasons theyre different I wouldn't correlate that to mean for europe, as in french broadcasters pay two or three times as much as the UK or SA broadcasters do, like they do for their league.
With France, it's not just about viewers, they are also paying much more. So no doubt there will be a hit (to the amount the French teams receive for only playing a fraction of it) but they may not care too much as long as the big clubs, the top 8 for example, enter the meaty end, and it wouldn't have the same value to them as the top14 contract/compensation does. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the 3 separate networks broadcast deals only went to the clubs in their regions as well (that's how SR ended up (unbalanced) I believe).
Go to commentsHis best years were 2018 and he wasn't good enough to win the World Cup in 2023! (Although he was voted as the best player in the world in 2023)
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