Lions Tour - Sharks v British Lions

10 June 2009

Preview By Tipster Jumbo (New Zealand)

This will be a bit short�Sorry�

This game is hard to get a good read on,you go through the line ups for either side and the Sharks are well down on player depth and have just finished a hard season while this line up for the Lions is a strong one and as such you would expect that they have chosen this side as a possible shadow test side for the up coming Series with the Boks and therefore they have a lot on their shoulders and will likely all be out to impress,hard game to read for a final result�

So far the Lions struggled to a win over the High-veld XV 25-37,then exploded over the Lions 10-74 but then on the weekend again looked off only just pipping the Cheetahs 24-26,many are looking at this game as their first real test but the Sharks are missing many players with all of their Springboks being out of this match,although they still do boast a team of Quality with past and present Springboks in their line up,the Sharks had a disappointing end to their S14 campaign and although not their strongest line up will be looking forward to this game a lot as a shot at redemption for some and a chance to show the Boks selectors how good they are to give them food for thought,either way it will not be easy as this Lions side named for today has some real talent in it.

The Lions have named what appears to be a shadow test side and they will want to work out combinations here and see what is working for them but with the side named they could easily run up a big score but so far in 3 games on this tour they have failed to do so and the one game where they did if they had�nt some questions about them would have had to of been asked,the problem for the Lions is their back rowers who have not shone at all so far on this tour but with the talent they have named in this side that should improve,however the real question is here can the Lions step up to the next level and get over a strong team and I have to say that I have my doubts,the Lions are now 3 games into this tour and there are a few things that they will have learnt,one is that every ground they play on is rock hard and that is something they will have to get used to in the Republic which by now they should be getting bumps and knocks from that and they will be adjusting but it will still be rather raw,secondly s that every side they meet wants to beat them and beat them badly as such the effort shown by the SA sides so far has been good and that should ring true again here today as the Lions face one of the more stronger SA sides today,all in all the Lions have the talent to win but the real question is do they have the toughness,maybe in wet conditions but playing on ground that feels like concrete..well that�s the real question is�nt it.

The Lions have named a great team but they are unproven and although they could run away with this game it is more likely that they will find themselves in a real slug fest for 60 mins of this game and then chances will fall to those brave enough to take them,in past tours with Lions sides playing against Natal or now the Sharks the Lions have won 11 of 12 with one match being drawn,only twice have the Lions won by double figures and I expect that with a weakened Sharks side that that those players will again rise to the challenge and make the going tough for the Lions,I expect the Lions to win but it could be a lot closer than the Bookies are thinking�Take the Sharks with the Start�Good Luck.