Lions looking to defend their den against Brumbies
Emirates Lions will be facing top Vodacom Super Rugby contender the Brumbies.
Emirates Lions will be back at home once again to defend their pride when they meet Aquis Brumbies at Emirates Airlines Park on Saturday, May 16, at 17:05.
“They are a very physical side and like to retain the ball and carry it for several phases, so we think we have a battle on our hands,” said the head coach for the Emirates Lions, Johan Ackermann.
The local team will face strong opposition from Down Under when they face Australian conference leaders in their Vodacom Super Rugby fixture. The last two encounters between these sides, in 2011 and 2012, were won by the visiting team.
The Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks will be going all-out to change their recent fortunes in Australasia in this weekend’s Vodacom Super Rugby action.
Toyota Cheetahs will also be facing opposition from Down Under in Bloemfontein.
Vodacom Bulls kick off their tour of Australia and New Zealand against the Blues in Auckland on Friday morning. The men from Pretoria have lost their last seven matches Down Under, their last victory incidentally coming against the three-time champions at Eden Park.
Cell C Sharks will be looking to snap a five-match losing streak when they take on the defending champion Waratahs in Sydney, on Saturday; a daunting prospect when one considers the Durbanites have not won in New South Wales in 15 years.
The final match of the weekend is Saturday evening, at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, between the Toyota Cheetahs and the dangerous Highlanders. The men from Central South Africa will be looking for their first home win ever over the Otago-based squad.
Blues vs Vodacom Bulls
Regular Vodacom Bulls captain Pierre Spies is back at No 8 and takes over the captaincy from Victor Matfield. As a result, Arno Botha moves to flank and Jacques du Plessis to the bench.
The only change in the backline is at scrumhalf, where Rudy Paige replaces the injured Piet van Zyl.
There are four changes on the bench. Joining Du Plessis are Jacques-Louis Potgieter (for Tian Schoeman), Travis Ismaiel (for Jurgen Visser), Dean Greyling (for Morné Mellett) and Werner Kruger (for Andrew Beerwinkel), who has not played since the opening round due to injury.
The teams are:
Blues: Lolagi Visinia, Ben Lam, Francis Saili, George Moala, Melani Nanai, Ihaia West, Jamison Gibson-Park, Steven Luatua (captain), Brendon O’Connor, Akira Ioane, Culum Retallick, Josh Bekhuis, Charlie Faumuina, James Parsons, Tony Woodcock. Replacements: Keven Mealamu, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Sam Prattley, Will Lloyd, Blake Gibson, Jimmy Cowan/Jamie Booth, Simon Hickey, Matt Vaega.
Vodacom Bulls: Jesse Kriel, Francois Hougaard, JJ Engelbrecht, Jan Serfontein, Bjorn Basson, Handre Pollard, Rudy Paige, Pierre Spies (captain), Arno Botha, Lappies Labuschagne, Victor Matfield, Flip van de Merwe, Marcel van der Merwe, Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane. Replacements: Callie Visagie, Dean Greyling, Werner Kruger, Jacques du Plessis, Deon Stegmann, Burger Odendaal, Jacques-Louis Potgieter, Travis Ismaiel.
Waratahs vs Cell C Sharks
The Cell C Sharks have named an unchanged match-23 for this weekend’s encounter – the first time they’ve managed to field the same team for back-to-back matches this season.
The last time the Cell C Sharks selected an unchanged match-23 for two consecutive matches was last year in rounds one and two, against the Vodacom Bulls and Hurricanes.
The Waratahs’ SA-born loose forward Jacques Potgieter, who will join the Cell C Sharks next season, is injured and will miss this match against his future team-mates.
The teams are:
Waratahs: Israel Folau, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper, Stephen Hoiles, David Dennis (captain), Will Skelton, Sekope Kepu, Tolu Latu, Benn Robinson. Replacements (three to be omitted): Hugh Roach, Jeremy Tilse, Paddy Ryan, Mitchell Chapman, Jed Holloway, Jack Dempsey, Tala Gray, Pat McCutcheon, Brendan McKibbin, Matt Carraro, Peter Betham.
Cell C Sharks: Lwazi Mvovo, Odwa Ndungane, JP Pietersen, Frans Steyn, S’bura Sithole, Lionel Cronje, Stefan Ungerer, Renaldo Bothma, Etienne Oosthuizen, Marcell Coetzee, Marco Wentzel (captain), Stephan Lewies, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Franco Marais, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Mouritz Botha, Kyle Cooper, Conrad Hoffmann, Andre Esterhuizen, Waylon Murray.
Emirates Lions vs Brumbies
Emirates Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has made two changes to the forwards for the encounter, as Martin Muller will start at lock and Robert Kruger moves into the starting lineup at flank.
The backline sees three personnel changes with Faf de Klerk starting at scrumhalf, Elton Jantjies returning to the starting flyhalf berth and Lionel Mapoe, having fully recovered from injury, starting at right wing. As a result, Ruan Combrinck will shift to left wing for the match.
The match will be preceded by the Vodacom Cup quarter-final between the Xerox Golden Lions and SWD Eagles.
“There is always expectations in the team and it will not be different against the Brumbies,” said captain Warren Whiteley.
‘‘We want to better our performance each time we play and we know we have to make as little as possible mistakes against this team (Brumbies). The support from the fans is also phenomenal.”
Tickets are still available for this doubleheader from Lionsrugby.computicket.com, including an exciting package deal for just R150 which includes Park and Ride SA transport to the match, lunch at the Weber braai area and a match ticket.
The teams are:
Emirates Lions: Andries Coetzee, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Alwyn Hollenbach, Ruan Combrinck, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley (captain), Robert Kruger, Jaco Kriel, Franco Mostert, Martin Muller, Julian Redelinghuys, Robbie Coetzee, Schalk van der Merwe. Replacements: Armand van der Merwe, Jacques van Rooyen, Ruan Dreyer, MB Lusaseni, Warwick Tecklenburg, Ross Cronje, Jaco van der Walt, Howard Mnisi.
Brumbies: Jesse Mogg, Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane, Christian Lealiifano, Nic White, Ita Vaea, David Pocock, Scott Fardy, Sam Carter, Rory Arnold, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore (captain), Allan Alaalatoa. Replacements: Josh Mann-Rea, JP Smith, Ruan Smith, Jordan Smiler, Jarrad Butler, Michael Dowsett, James Dargaville, Robbie Coleman / Nigel Ah Wong.
Toyota Cheetahs vs Highlanders
The Toyota Cheetahs’ starting XV shows three changes from their previous match – new halfbacks in Francois Brummer and Tian Meyer (replacing the injured Joe Pietersen and Sarel Pretorius).
Danie Mienie is back at loosehead prop for Caylib Oosthuizen.
The Toyota Cheetahs’ bench shows four changes – BG Uys, Shaun Venter, Coenie van Wyk and Raymond Rhule, back from injury, are the new faces there.
The teams are:
Toyota Cheetahs: Clayton Blommetjies, Ryno Benjamin, Francois Venter, Michael van der Spuy, Sergeal Petersen, Francois Brummer, Tian Meyer, Willie Britz, Boom Prinsloo, Tienie Burger, Francois Uys (captain), Carl Wegner, Maks van Dyk, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Danie Mienie. Replacements: Stephan Coetzee, BG Uys, Ewald van der Westhuizen, Steven Sykes, Carel Greeff, Shaun Venter, Coenie van Wyk, Raymond Rhule.
Highlanders: Ben Smith (co-captain), Ryan Tongia, Malakai Fekitoa, Richard Buckman, Patrick Osborne, Lima Sopoaga, Aaron Smith, Nasi Manu (co-captain), John Hardie, Gareth Evans, Mark Reddish, Alex Ainley, Josh Hohneck, Liam Coltman, Brendon Edmonds. Replacements: Ash Dixon, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Ross Geldenhuys, Tom Franklin, Elliot Dixon, Dan Pryor, Fumiaki Tanaka, Marty Banks.
Other fixtures (SA kick-off times):
Friday, May 15
11:40: Reds v Rebels – Brisbane
Saturday, May 16
09:35: Hurricanes v Chiefs – Wellington
Byes: DHL Stormers, Crusaders, Force
