Everything you need to know about the Lions vs Rebels

The Lions will face the Rebels in a Super Rugby game at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.

The Lions and the Rebels are both coming off of a win, beating the Jaguares 37-29 and 29-26 last weekend, respectively.

Rebels prop Tetera Faulkner believes the competition for front row starting spots this year has prepared the team well for the threat that the Lions pose.

“I guess we’ve been working hard as a front row group,” explains Faulkner on the Rebels’ website.

“In terms of last year when we did make a change, it probably threw off the balance a bit. We had a starting team and whoever came on did an ok job, but this year we’ve got real competition,” explained Faulkner.

Faulkner believes that type of internal competition is the what’s needed to take the Rebels game to the next level.

“You can see for a guy like myself and Matt Gibbon who are both competing quite hard over preseason and he’s taken his opportunity.”

The ‘Melburnians’ are expecting the Lions to be at their best and show why they have made three consecutive Super Rugby finals.

Lions team and injury news

Lock Marvie Orie will return to action when the Lions take on the Rebels this Saturday.

Orie got injured in mid-February and makes his return for the big clash with the unbeaten Rebels. His lock partner will be Stephan Lewies.

The side shows four changes to the starting XV which sees Tyrone Green starting at full-back and Ruan Combrinck coming in at wing.

On the bench, hooker Jan-Henning Campher makes a first appearance for the Lions. Sti Sithole returns to the team, as do locks Rhyno Herbst and Ruan Vermaak while Lionel Mapoe and Andries Coetzee are both expected to take the field from the bench.

Lions: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Franco Naude, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Malcolm Marx (c), 1 Dylan Smith.

Substitutes: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Rhyno Herbst, 20 Ruan Vermaak, 21 Gianni Lombard, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Andries Coetzee

Rebels team and injury news

Rebels back Reece Hodge will make his first start of this season, with five changes flagged to the side’s starting XV to face the Lions.

Hodge, who has made two appearances off the bench in 2019, will start in the number 11 jersey, replacing Marika Koroibete on the wing.

Joining him in the starting XV is prop Tetera Faulkner, hooker Anaru Rangi, flanker Luke Jones and lock Ross Haylett-Petty, who will also start for the first time this season.

The changes to the side means Matt Gibbon, Robbie Abel, Matt Philip and Koroibete will join the match from the bench, while flanker Rob Leota has been omitted from this week’s side.

Home-grown talent Sione Tuipulotu has been named as a replacement centre, in what could potentially be the 22-year-old’s first game for Melbourne since 2017.

Rebels: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty (c), 14 Jack Maddocks, 13 Tom English, 12 Billy Meakes, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Brad Wilkin, 6 Luke Jones, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Anaru Rangi, 1 Tetera Faulkner

Substitutes: 16 Robbie Abel, 17 Matt Gibbon, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Angus Cottrell, 21 Michael Ruru, 22 Sione Tuipulotu, 23 Marika Koroibete

Kick-off time

Saturday, 16 March at 15:05 (SAST).

TV & Live Stream

SuperSport 1 (subscription required) at 14:55 (SAST).

Super Rugby Form (most recent result first)

Lions: WLLW

Rebels: WWW