Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

First home match of 2020 sees Wellington Lions shorn of All Blacks

TJ Perenara, Du'Plessis Kirif and Peter Umaga-Jensen. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The Wellington Lions are gearing up to host Bay of Plenty, in their first Mitre 10 Cup clash at Sky Stadium this year.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s the first major sporting event in the country to go ahead with the possibility of big crowds since moving back to alert level one on Tuesday.

The Lions will be hoping to build off the back of a commanding 39 – 21 victory over Auckland last weekend. Whilst this will be their first game without any All Blacks players, head coach Leo Crowley says there’s still plenty of firepower in the ranks.

Video Spacer

The Breakdown | Episode 35 | Ranfurly Shield Fever

Video Spacer

The Breakdown | Episode 35 | Ranfurly Shield Fever

“It’s a return to where we always thought the competition would be. We’ve been spoilt having our All Blacks with us and they all have had a huge influence on our group in their own way. We wish them luck in their campaign.”

The exclusion of those All Blacks and the impact of a few minor injuries have resulted in tweaks to last week’s starting XV.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFahKqvgNxa/

Tyrone Thompson, Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe, Teariki Ben-Nicholas, Kemara Hauiti-Parapara will all move into starting positions.

Crowley says you always expect to carry injuries after a physical game, but that presents the opportunity to give other players time in the saddle.

ADVERTISEMENT

“By having All Blacks in our team, certain others have had to wait their turn to perform. This week we have a few players that get their much-anticipated opportunity to start.”

The Lions have won their last seven matches against Bay of Plenty, but Crowley says that means nothing on game day.

“Bay of Plenty will pose a serious threat to us. They are a tough team around the breakdown and have talent to burn out wide. We are expecting nothing less than a battle upfront. We are thrilled to finally have a home game and looking to put a positive performance out there for our supporters.”

Kick-off at Sky Stadium on Friday is 7:05pm, with gates opening from 4pm ahead of the Wellington Pride’s clash with the Manawatu Cyclones.

ADVERTISEMENT

Wellington: Billy Proctor, Wes Goosen, Peter Umaga-Jensen, Vince Aso, Julian Savea/Pepesana Patafilo, Jackson Garden-Bachop, Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, Teariki Ben-Nicholas, Du’Plessis Kirifi (c), Vaea Fifita, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, James Blackwell, Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe, Tyrone Thompson, Kaliopasi Uluilakepa. Reserves: Bruce Kauika-Petersen, Xavier Numia, Ben Aumua-Peseta, Caleb Delany, Mateaki Kafatolu, Connor Collins, Trent Renata, Pepesana Patafilo/Ruben Love.

– Wellington Rugby

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

A
AM 41 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

72 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING ‘That worries me’: Ex-All Black’s bold Damian McKenzie selection call ‘That worries me’: Ex-All Black’s bold Damian McKenzie selection call
Search