The Lions are the last of the South African provincial sides to take on the All Blacks as the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour continues at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on Tuesday
Lions vs New Zealand, Johannesburg, Kick Off 18:00, Tuesday 25th August
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)
Weather Forecast - Johannesburg
Lions:
As was the case with the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls the Lions are preparing for the forthcoming URC season and they are still a month away from first game which is at home to champions Leinster on 26th September.
In the 2025/26 URC the Lions finished seventh on the log with a record of 10 wins, 1 draw and 7 defeats. In the first round of play offs the Lions then crashed and burned away to Leinster, going down 59-10.
New Zealand:
The All Blacks beat the Springboks 33-16 at this venue in the first of 4 test matches on Saturday, a wake up call for the Boks who were 7.5 point favourites for that game. We will look at what happened in more detail in our preview of the second test which takes place in Cape Town this Saturday but the win keeps the All Blacks undefeated on this tour. This is the last of the games against the provincial teams, here is what happened earlier in the tour.
New Zealand’s final prep for the first test came against the Bulls at Loftus and they came out on top 50-19. They led 24-0 at half time but there was a bit more about the Bulls after the break. The All Blacks still ran in a total of 8 tries and the bookmakers main handicap line of 31.5 points was very accurate.
The All Blacks second tour match saw them thrash the Sharks 54-0 in Durban (half time 14-0). Despite wet condition they ran in 8 tries and easily covered the main pre-match handicap line which had been supported into -38.5 points.
The All Blacks were around -33.5 points on the bookmakers main handicap line for their opening match of the tour against the Stomers in Cape Town. However it was only late on that they put the game to bed with 4 of their 6 tries coming from the 66th minute onwards in a 38-21 victory.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Results & Fixtures
Friday 7th August, Stormers 21-38 New Zealand (Cape Town Stadium)
Tuesday 11th August, Sharks 0-54 New Zealand (Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday 15th August, Bulls 19-50 New Zealand (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday 22nd August, 1st test: South Africa 16-33 New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
Tuesday 25th August, Lions v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, 29th August, 2nd test: South Africa v New Zealand (Cape Town Stadium)
Saturday, 5th September, 3rd test: South Africa v New Zealand (FNB Stadium, Soweto)
Saturday, 12th September, 4th test: South Africa v New Zealand (Baltimore, USA)
Team News
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smit, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Boan Venter, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Boeta Chamberlain
New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Rieko Ioane , 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 11 Emoni Narawa, 10 Richi Mo’unga, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Semisi Ta’eiloa, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 4 Sam Darry, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Siale Lauaki
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Saula Ma’u, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown
The Betting
Updated 24 Aug 17h20
Lions +37.5 points
New Zealand -37.5 points
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle - betting updates and tips will be posted below with the newest post on top
Bet 2: Lions v New Zealand
Posted 25 August 18h05
Bet: 2 units (1–5) – Over 70.5 points at 0.93/1 with BetXchange.
There is an element of feeling the need to have a bet on this Tuesday night rugby game in this playe, as I don't have a particularly confident feel for the match.
I do think, though, that we're going to see an open game with plenty of attacking rugby and points.
It's not one I'm going to overthink. I'm betting that the two sides combine for at least 71 points.
Over 70.5 points is the play.
Bet 1: Lions v New Zealand
Posted 25 August 12h22
Bet: 0.5 units (1–5) – Kyle Preston, last New Zealand try scorer at 12/1 with PokerBet.
I'm still battling to form a strong opinion around the handicap, and the total points line for that matter, so I'm going to start with a look at the last try scorer markets – particularly the New Zealand last try scorer market.
Preston is unlikely to be given too much game time, but I do expect him to get a run in the final 15 or 20 minutes, so he should be on the field when the last try is scored.
The nippy halfback has an eye for the tryline and could go over with a dart around the fringes or by running in support of a teammate who has broken the line.
At 12/1, I'm happy to have a speculative play on Kyle Preston to score New Zealand's last try.
Money for the Lions
Posted 25 Aug 11h33
The Lions have come into +35.5 from +37.5 and the points line is stable at 71.5 - bets to follow
Handicap settles (for now) at 37.5
Posted 24 Aug 17h24
I was unable to keep an eye on the betting today but based on forum posts there was +39.5 Lions and -35.5 New Zealand on offer and the market appears to have settled in the middle at 37.5.
The total points line is 71.5
I am going to have a closer look at this game later tonight with a bet up in the morning.
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
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