For the first time this season an Aussie team will play a South African team when the Rebels face off against the Lions.
By a fluke that happens sometimes in Super Rugby match scheduling, and the demise of the Lions for one year, the Rebels have played the Lions only twice before – at Ellis Park.
THE FORM
The Rebels are coming off an away win over in Perth, where for the first quarter of the match it looked like they were going to put on a cricket score. The Force rallied back and the Rebels managed to hold onto the win. With a 2-2 record the Rebels are still looking for their first win of the year at the Stockade.
The Lions have made twelve changes from the side that was smashed off the park by an All Black-filled Crusaders side. The Lions have only the one win in 2015, against the Blues in Auckland; so they do know how to win on the road.
Sharpshooter Mike Harris – plays 50th Super Rugby game .
THE PLAYERS
This match is without doubt a battle of the sharp shooters with Lions and Springbok capped Fly half Marnitz Boshoff averaging just under 12 points a game in his Super Rugby career.
Both sides will have to be careful not to give away too many penalties in defence. Mike Harris has been kicking well for the Rebels this season and looks to be the perfect signing that we needed here in Melbourne. Expect to see him organizing the back line at flyhalf and doing the simple things right.
Lions Coach Johan Ackermann has made twelve changes and has two flyhalves in the side: Marnitz Boshoff will have the 10 jersey and Elton Jantjies the 12. Little scrummie Faf de Klerk starts in place of Ross Cronjie. He had better watch out for Nic Stirzaker, who had a cracking game against the Force last week.
‘Stirzy’, as he is known, is the newly-inducted member of the Club’s leadership group and he built up an effective combination with Jack Debreczeni that started during the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship. This week he will team up with Mike Harris at 10 with exciting youngster Jonah Placid taking the place of “Aussie Mike” at fullback.
The speed and accuracy of Strizaker’s ball distribution were impressive against the Force, and despite both sides being able to call upon some in-form beasts in their respective forward packs, it could be the smallest men on the field who have the biggest impact.
Congratulations to Mike Harris and Dom Shipperley who are both playing their 50th Super Rugby games tonight.
Dom Shipperley – also plays in 50th Super Rugby game .
PREDICTION
With twelve changes to the Lions I can only see the result going in the home team’s favour. The Rebels have had a tough fixture list so far and showed massive signs of improvement.
South African teams with a four-match tour schedule often blood a few new players against a team that is not going so well – or so they think when they make their plans pre-season. Nothing wrong with that: New Zealand teams sometimes do it when they have the Force as their third opponent on tour.
But this time I think the Lions will be bitten on the bum. The Lions haven’t won a game in Australia since 2011 though they didn’t compete in 2013. Sure, they have beaten the Rebels two out of two – in Johannesburg, but the home team will have no qualms about beating the visitors in Melbourne.
Rebels by 17
Rebels v Lions
 |  | 
|
|---|---|---|
| Toby Smith | 1 | Schalk van der Merwe |
| Pat Leafa | 2 | Armand van der Merwe |
| Laurie Weeks | 3 | Ruan Dreyer |
| Luke Jones | 4 | Robert Kruger |
| Lopeti Timani | 5 | Franco Mostert |
| Sean McMahon | 6 | Derick Minnie |
| Scott Fuglistaller | 7 | Warwick Tecklenburg |
| Scott Higginbotham | 8 | Warren Whiteley (c) |
| Nic Stirzaker | 9 | Faf de Klerk |
| Mike Harris | 10 | Marnitz Boshoff |
| Tom English | 11 | Courtnall Skosan |
| Mitch Inman | 12 | Elton Jantjies |
| Tamati Ellison | 13 | Lionel Mapoe |
| Dom Shipperley | 14 | Sampie Mastriet |
| Jonah Placid | 15 | Jaco van der Walt |
| Reserves | ||
| Tom Sexton | 16 | Robbie Coetzee |
| Cruze Ah-Nau | 17 | Corne Fourie |
| Paul Alo-Emile | 18 | Julian Redelinghuys |
| Steve Cummins | 19 | Andries Ferreira |
| Colby Fainga'a | 20 | Jaco Kriel |
| Luke Burgess | 21 | Ross Cronje |
| Bryce Hegarty | 22 | Harold Vorster |
| Sefanaia Naivalu | 23 | Andries Coetzee |
| Location: | AAMI Park, Melbourne | |
| Kickoff: | Fri 20 Mar 19:40 | |
| Referee: | Mike Fraser | |
| Assistant Ref 1: | Rohan Hoffmann | |
| Assistant Ref 2: | Will Houston | |
| TMO : | James Leckie |
