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The Lions host Los Jaguares in a second round Super Rugby fixture. Taking place in Johannesburg on Saturday the home side is looking for back-to-back wins to open their 2018 Super Rugby season. Los Jaguares are seeking their first after falling to the Stormers last Saturday.
Lions Head Coach Swys de Bruyn has made just one change for the match. Coming off a 26-19 win over the Sharks the only alteration sees Andries Ferreira named in the second-row.
Ferreira was a late withdrawal from the team that faced there Sharks. He joins Springbok Franco Mostert in locking the scrum. On the bench there is an opportunity for Marco Jensen to win his first Super Rugby cap.
de Bruyn’s counterpart, Mario Ledesma has made two changes for the match. Ledesma has opted to change one forward and one back. In the pack Guido Petti takes over from Matías Alemanno in the second-row. This sees the reformation of the familiar Petti-Lavanini combination which dates back to November 2014 for Los Pumas.
In the backs Ledesma has named rookie Bautista Delguy on the right wing. He replaces Ramiro Moyano while Sebastián Cancelliere remains outside of the match day 23.
On the bench Ledesma has named Leonardo Senatore as a replacement center. In actuality it means Los Jaguares are taking an extra forward. He joins Marcos Kremer as the back-row replacement options. Forces Javier Díaz and Juan Pablo Zeiss are among the front-row replacements.
The fixture features a number of interesting head-to-head match-ups. At hooker it is two of the world’s best players with Malcolm Marx and Agustín Creevy on opposing teams. Lionel Mapoe and Matías Orlando have an interesting battle in mid-field while Elton Jantjies and Nicolás Sánchez are two fly halves with plenty of test match experience but both are under pressure.
The teams first squared-off in May 2016. The Lions were easily the better side, winning 52-24 in Johannesburg. Los Jaguares won the return fixture 34-22 two months later in Buenos Aires.
In 2017 they would also meet on two occasions. The first saw Los Jaguares winning 36-24 at home while the Lions won 24-21 in Johannesburg. The teams therefore have a 2-2 record with the home side always coming out victorious.
In theory Los Jaguares ought to win the battle. They are, indeed, the one Argentine Super Rugby franchise. By way of comparison the Lions are one of four South African teams. The Lions have noted that Los Jaguares looked better against the Stormers than they did in 2016 and 2017. Yet achieving a victory in Johannesburg will require a special Jaguares performance. The Lions enter as favorites.
LIONS
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (capt.), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques Van Rooyen
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Jacobus Adriaanse, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Hacjivah Dayimani, 21 Marco Jansen Van Vuren, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Rohan Janse Van Rensburg
JAGUARES
15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Tomás Lezana, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera (capt.), 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Felipe Arregui
Replacements: 16 Javier Díaz, 17 Julián Montoya, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Marcos Kremer, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Leonardo Senatore, 23 Ramiro Moyano
Date: Saturday February 24
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 1:15pm local (10:15am Argentina)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistants: AJ Jacobs (South Africa), Jaco Pretorius (South Africa)
TMO: Willie Vos (South Africa)
