The fourth match in Super Rugby Round 10 on Saturday is in Johannesburg where the Lions host the Hurricanes.
The Lions beat the Southern Kings 10-45 in Port Elizabeth last week and they have risen to the top of Africa 2 Conference.
The Hurricanes were beaten 27-28 at home by the Chiefs and have had to travel across the Indian Ocean for this match.
The one point loss was the Hurricanes first in five matches so they are anything but a struggling team. The Lions have won their last three matches and their only loss since round three was to the Crusaders.
The Lions have played the Hurricanes 16 times in Super Rugby and they have won 3 matches. This gives the Lions a record of winning 19% of their matches against the Hurricanes.
The Lions have hosted the Hurricanes 8 times in Super Rugby and they have won three matches. All of the Lions victories have been at home and they have won 38% of their home matches.
The average score when the Lions host the Hurricane is Lions 26 Hurricanes 26.
For this week the Lions have called in rookie prop Pieter Scholtz to their starting line up after the season ending injury to Ruan Dreyer. Meanwhile Malcolm Marx has been included in the starting line-up but will undergo a late fitness test on Friday. Should he not be available, Armand van der Merwe will start with Ramone Samuels coming onto the bench.
The Lions had an easier match last week and they have not had to travel as much as the Hurricanes for this and all of the Lions victories against the Hurricanes have been at home.
At the time of writing the Hurricanes had not named their team but no big surprises were expected in team selections.
This Match will be shown on TV in NZ (Sky), Aus (Fox Sports), SA (SuperSport) and in the UK on Sky Sports 5 on the Red button.
Average score: Lions 23 Hurricanes 30
Last five results
13 Feb 2015 Lions v Hurricanes 8-22 Johannesburg
02 Mar 2012 Lions v Hurricanes 28-30 Johannesburg
04 Jun 2011 Lions v Hurricanes 27-38 Wellington
27 Feb 2010 Lions v Hurricanes 18-33 Wellington
28 Mar 2009 Lions v Hurricanes 32-38 Johannesburg
Lions overall record against the Hurricanes
Played 16 , Wins 3, Losses 13, Draws 0
Match No.76:Lions v Hurricanes
Date : Saturday 30 April 2016
Venue : Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg
Kick Off local: 17:05 local
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Ref 1:Jaco Peyper
Assistant Ref 2:Ben Crouse
TMO :Johan Greef
Teams
Lions
15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Malcolm Marx/Armand van der Merwe, 1 Dylan Smith
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe/Ramone Samuels, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Ruan Ackermann, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 JW Bell, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Hurricanes
15 Jason Woodward , 14 Cory Jane , 13 Matt Proctor , 12 Vince Aso , 11 Julian Savea , 10 Beauden Barrett , 9 TJ Perenara (vc) , 8 Victor Vito , 7 Ardie Savea , 6 Brad Shields , 5 Michael Fatialofa , 4 Vaea Fifita , 3 Jeff Toomaga-Allen , 2 Dane Coles (c) , 1 Reggie Goodes
Replacements: Motu Matu’u, Chris Eves, Loni Uhila, Blade Thomson, Callum Gibbins, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Marshall, Willis Halaholo.
