SPRINGBOK DIRT TRACKERS vs LEICESTER TIGERS!

USA captain Todd Selleck shares a laugh with Springbok Dirt Tracker Earl Rose. The opening tour match for the Springboks should be a tight one, with Rose providing some nervous moments...

Leicester Tigers have a juggling act to perform as they go into Friday night's match against the Springboks at Welford Road. Their players will be involved in three matches in three days.
On Friday night some Leicester players play against the Springbok touring team - South Africa minus all its top players. On Saturday five Leicester players play against Australia at Twickenham. On Sunday some Leicester players play against Leeds Carnegie at Headingley in the LV Cup. In addition there are injuries.

The five playing for England are all in the starting team - Dan Hipkiss, Louis Deacon, Tom Croft, Lewis Moody and Jordan Crane.
It could have been billed as England's Premiership Champions against the World Champions but, given the nature of the two teams, that would have been an unwarranted leap of credibility.
It's a great weekend for the club, perhaps a greedy one. There is nothing they can do about the five playing for England, but they may well have many doubling up on Sunday, especially the 10 first-choice players in the side - Scott Hamilton, Johne Murphy, Lucas Amorosino, Aaron Mauger, who is unusually playing at flyhalf, Ben Kay, Martín Castrogiovanni, Mefin Davies and Marcos Ayerza and hooker George Chuter.

That is a good number of first-choice players in a great club. Seven of them have 317 Test caps among them - Mauger, Kay, Castrogiovanni, Davies, Ayerza, Lote Tuqiri and Chuter. The 22 Springboks who face the Tigers have a total of 174 caps amongst them. The most capped player is Danie Rossouw with 42 caps and many of them will have been from the bench.
The Tigers have their share of young inexperienced players, including 20-year-old scrumhalf Nick Youngs who is thought to have a great future whether as a scrumhalf or as a flyhalf. Bench player Dan Hemingway is also 20 and promising young prop Dan Cole 22.
On the flank there is Ben Pienaar, a recognisably South African name. He was indeed born in South Africa but came to England with his parents when he was young.

So there is lots of experience plus some inexperience against some experience plus lots of inexperience. The Wallabies' second string had little trouble in rattling up a big score against Gloucester but then the West Country side are suffering troubled times. The Tigers are suffering no such problems. The people are not walking out of Welford road. It could just be a great encounter.
If the front rows are to have a say in the outcome of the game, the Tigers seem to have the greater strength and experience. Chiliboy Ralepelle has hardly played this year and Gürthro Steenkamp is just not a scrummager. If the loose forwards are to speak loudest, then the young, uncapped Springbok trio may surprise with their speed, strength and skill.
Both sides are in good playing condition - the Tigers in mid-season, the Springboks just at the end of their season.

Players to watch: Wily Aaron Mauger is always worth watching, such a clever player even if he is out of position, but then Ruan Pienaar plays in so many positions he seems out of position wherever he plays but he too is a player of skill and greater speed. Johne Murphy (Tigers) is a most promising, committed young player. The other wing, Argentinian Lucas Amorosino, scored a spectacular try last weekend and could be a star in the making. For the Springboks the centre pair, young Juan de Jongh and more experienced Wynand Olivier, have the speed and skill to provide excitement. Most of South Africa will keep an eye on Earl Rose at fullback, mystified as many are at his selection. There will also be interest in Chiliboy Ralepelle's captaincy. At school, Pretoria Boys High, he was highly rated as a player and a leader, following in the footsteps of John Smit at the school. Ralepelle has captained the Springboks once before - and that in Leicester in 2006 when the Springboks played a pick-up side called a World XV and beat them 32-7 at Walkers Stadium.

There are no previous results. This is a new encounter though in the past Springbok touring teams would play against Midland Counties, The Springboks won in Leicester in 1906 and 1912 but lost there 30-21 in 1931. The Springboks won 3-0 in 1951 and the teams drew 3-3 at Welford Road in 1960.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Lucas Amorosino, 13 Andy Forsyth, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Johne Murphy, 10 Aaron Mauger (captain), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Brett Deacon, 7 Ben Pienaar, 6 Geoff Parling, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Calum Green, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Dan Cole, 18 Tom Armes, 19 Dan Hemingway, 20 James Grindal, 21 Greig Tonks, 22 Lote Tuqiri.

South Africa: 15 Earl Rose, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Davon Raubenheimer, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle (captain), 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Riaan Viljoen.

Date: Friday, November 6
Venue: Welford Road, Leicester
Kick-off: 19.45 (19.45 GMT, 21.45 SA time)
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Roy Maybank, Robin Goodliffe
TMO: Andrew Turner, Graeme Hughes

SOURCE: RUGBY365