{"id":51374,"date":"2024-06-27T18:04:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T16:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=51374"},"modified":"2024-06-27T18:04:06","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T16:04:06","slug":"golden-lions-hunting-academy-week-double-on-home-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=51374","title":{"rendered":"Golden Lions hunting Academy Week double on home soil"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOTO: Youthsports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Golden Lions<\/strong> will be on the hunt for the title of unofficial champions of the Academy Week<\/strong> for a second year in succession on Friday, the final day of the event.<\/p>\n

Catch all the action on <\/strong>SuperSport Schools\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Johannesburg-based union has made it very clear that they are the team to beat at this year’s week, which is, once again, being hosted at Jeppe High School for Boys<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The hosts will face the unpredictable Eastern Province<\/strong> at 12:15 to decide which team will be regarded as 2024’s best.<\/p>\n

The Golden Lions convincingly won their first two matches. They made themselves at home in their opener, cruising to 65-25 victory over the Free State Cheetahs in a battle of the big cats. Then, on Wednesday, they caged the Sharks, breaking open a game that they led 8-3 at the break with a second half spurt, which carried them to a comprehensive 35-3 victory.<\/p>\n

Eastern Province had it tougher, but they showed great character in both of their outings, which secured them the nod for Friday’s big game.<\/p>\n

In their opening match, they almost slipped up against the Sharks, drawing 38-38 in a thriller. Then, against a very good Western Province side, they showed their class and attacking prowess in a nail-biting 25-24 win, which they secured with a late try.<\/p>\n

The battle of the backs will certainly be interesting. Both sides possess the ability to score from anywhere. The home side’s midfield will, without a doubt, challenge the EP side. Inside centre Jarred Coetzee<\/strong> and outside centre Ty Ax<\/strong> have been relentless in attack. Coetzee, especially, has impressed with his clever attacking lines and physical presence.<\/p>\n

For the Eastern Cape side, Tyreses Brouers<\/strong>, a member of the LSEN XV side in 2023, has been instrumental. He possesses an intimidating frame and a massive work rate and will be eager to stamp his authority among the forwards.<\/p>\n

The other unbeaten side, the Blue Bulls<\/strong>, might feel somewhat hard done by after missing out on the main match. They will, however, face Western Province<\/strong> in a traditional north-south derby, which has often been a showdown between South Africa’s best provincial teams.<\/p>\n

The Bulls battled to outlast a spirited Lions XV side in their first match, sneaking home by a 30-28 margin. On day two, they hit their straps, showing some great character to outclass Boland 55-31.<\/p>\n

FRIDAY FIXTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Collard Field:<\/strong> 08:30 –<\/strong> Namibia vs Zimbabwe; 09:45 –<\/strong> Sharks vs Griffons; 11:00 –<\/strong> Blue Bulls vs Western Province; 12:15 –<\/strong> Golden Lions vs Eastern Province.<\/p>\n

Jake White Field:<\/strong> 08:30 –<\/strong> Boland vs Leopards; 09:45 –<\/strong> Griquas vs Valke; 11:00 –<\/strong> Free State vs Golden Lions XV.<\/p>\n

Top Right Field:<\/strong> 08:30 –<\/strong> South Western Districts vs Border Country Districts; 09:45 –<\/strong> Limpopo Blue Bulls vs LSEN XV; 11:00 –<\/strong> Border vs Pumas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Golden Lions will be on the hunt for the title of unofficial champions of the Academy Week for a second year in succession on Friday, the final day of the event. Catch all the action on SuperSport Schools\u00a0 The Johannesburg-based union has made it very clear that they are the team to beat at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":51375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}