The Bulls host the Lions in a United Rugby Championship catch up game at Loftus on Saturday, an opportunity for both sides to climb up the standings.
Bulls v Lions, Saturday 27th January, Pretoria, KO 15:00 (South African time)
Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Morne Ferriera (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Weather Forecast – Pretoria
Bulls:
The Bulls lost 26-20 away to the Stormers in the URC over Xmas. They are sixth in the current standings with 5 wins and 3 defeats but if they win this game in hand on all the sides above them with a bonus point they would climb as high as third.
In their previous home game in Round 7 the Bulls put the Sharks away with a 44-10 victory and they also won earlier home games against the Scarlets (63-21) and Connacht (53-27) so they are 3 from 3 at Loftus.
Most recently the Bulls have been in Champions Cup action where they finished the pool stage with wins away to Bristol Bears (31-17) and then at home to Bordeaux (46-40). That saw the Bulls finish as runners up in their pool with 3 wins and 1 defeat and they will host Lyon in the Round of 16.
In the outright betting the Bulls are 82/10 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports
Lions:
The Lions most recent URC action was also a local derby and they edged out the Sharks 20-18 in Durban, getting up with a late converted try. That saw the Lions finish Round 8 with 4 wins and 4 defeats for 23 log points, good enough for eleventh place but just 2 points behind a top 8 spot with this game in hand.
The Lions only other derby action this season came in the opening round when a late fightback at home to the Stormers came up just short and they were beaten 35-33.
In last season's match up's with the Bulls the Lions lost 31-15 in Johannesburg in Round 1 but they turned things around with a 29-25 victory at Loftus, their only SA derby success of the campaign.
The Lions have been in Challenge Cup pool stage action over the last 2 weeks. They were 2/2 in that competition but then went down 13-3 away to Montpellier in Round 3 and in Round 4 they lost at home to fellow URC side the Ospreys (38-28) to finish fourth in their pool. The Lions will visit Benetton on the Round of 16 of that competition in April.
In the outright betting the Lions are 55/1 shots to win the tournament with BoyleSports
Team News
Bulls: 15 Willi Le Roux, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 David Kriel, 12 Harold Voster, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Mpilo Gumede, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (captain), 4 Deon Slabbert, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Simphiwe Matanzima.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Reinhardt Ludwig, 20 Cameron Hanekom, 21 Keagan Johannes, 22 Devon Williams, 23 Marcell Coetzee
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Hanru Sirgel, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith.
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Erich Cronje
The Betting,
Bulls -13.5 points at 9/10
Lions +13.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
I have been battling to find a betting angle but having consulted a couple of shrewd punters in Brendan (on The Handicap) and Eduard (forum) I am leaning to the unders. There was heavy rain overnight and although Loftus drainage is good these days I understand more is expected.
Lions away matches also tend to be low scoring and there has not been over 50 points in their last 7 games across all competitions.
Bet: 4 units under 57.5 points at 9/10 at WSB
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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