Lions head coach Johan Ackermann has named his 23-man outfit to do battle with the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.
Ackermann has opted for consistency, making just two forced changes to the Lions’ starting 15, that derailed the DHL Stormers 34 / 10 last weekend.
The changes see Warwick Tecklenburg start in the place of the injured Derick Minnie and JW Jonker come into the side after Alwyn Hollenbach was unable to pass a fitness test on Thursday. As a result of this change, Stefan Watermeyer shifts back to inside centre, with Jonker partnering with him at 13.
Meanwhile, on the wood, Willie Britz will provide loose-forward cover, having recovered from his hip flexor injury. Utility back Courtnall Skosan also comes in on the bench and will look to make his Vodacom Super Rugby debut.
The match will kick off at 17:05 SA Time (15:05 GMT).
Lions: 15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (Captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Franco Mostert, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk (FS) van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 20 Willie Britz, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Courtnall Skosan, 23 Coenie van Wyk.
GBS, I put a thread up as well but you beat me to it by a nano-second or two so I trashed mine.
1 @ Scrumdown:
I hope the Bulls also beat your team on the weekend, even OK by me if it is by a nano-second too!
I’m fast…. very freegin fast!
I love the consistency in team selection. At this stage it looks like JA is only making injury enforced changes. I am not looking forward to the time when he has to start rotating players. But hopefully the back up guys will have had some game time as subs, and will have gotten used to the pace of SR
2 @ grootblousmile:
Well I reckon the Lions are going to do to the Bulls what I did with my thread.
Trash them.
BUT – I’ll back the Bulls on SuperBru just to make sure the Lions win.
4 @ Scrumdown:
Hehehe
I’m not sure who to back on this one…
Don’t want to lose my top place on Bru…
Think I might go for the Lions on this one… reason being the Bulls problems will continue at hooker, openside and at fullback.
@ grootblousmile:
And at 9
6 @ Lion4ever:
Hougaard could still come right IF the right game plan is played… IF Hougaard is allowed to play to his strenghts.
… but until then, you might be right on that score too.
@ grootblousmile:
I think it was last week on Boots&All, and one of the guys said that he was talking to a Bulls player at a coaching clinic, and they were discussing game plans and the Bulls player said that even if they were 40-0 down, they still had to stick to the game plan. So I don’t think Ludicrous will change the game plan, and he will still require Hougaard to play like FDP. And that is where the Bulls biggest problem is. Not that they don’t have problems elsewhere, but they are hobbling one of the best players in the country by forcing him to play away from his strengths.
8 @ Lion4ever:
Mmmmmm, for how long though, till even the Bulls coaching staff catches a wake-up…
A tough game ahead, the Lions will badly miss Derick Minnie, the Bulls will miss Marius Jonker, Craig Joubert and Jason Jaftha 🙂
The Bulls still stick with Hougaard and who knows, they can prove me wrong again 🙁
The rugby sense says send him to the wing where in the 2010 season along with V.d. Heever they scored 24 SR tries?
A tough wager here
@ Hondo:
@ grootblousmile:
But will the coaching staff wake up?
Hondo, while losing Minnie is a big blow, Tecklenburg played a blinder on Saturday.
Just as I can see the Lions maintaining momentum I can see the Bulls hitting with a massive comeback.
Looking forward to watch this as a neutral.
The Bulls will be playing against a number of their ex-team mates… Marnitz Boshoff, Warwick Tecklenburg, Willie Wepener (bench), Stefan Watermeyer, Courtnal Skosan (bench)… and those players will be super-pumped to show that they have something over the Bulls.
On the other hand, if the Bulls could cut some errors near the Lions line (which they did not against the Sharks & Cheetahs), they could well regroup and win this one.
Average fullbacks both sides, not the flashiest wings in both teams, better balance in the Lions loosies… and probably the most important factor, Marnitz Boshoff on Lions side, who’s having a great run so far.
Interesting times indeed!
And the Bulls will have some ex Lions players. Hattingh, Visagie and on the Bench, Willemse.
Jukskei clash?? Thought this was a rugby tournament
Bulls by 10 GO BULLS!
GBS, Robbie Coetzee was with us as a junior too if am not mistaken and was not one of Franco locks at Blue Bulls at some point too if am not completely deurmekitaar.
16 @ Bullscot:
Yeah, Franco Mostert and Robbie Coetzee were Bulls too!
17 @ grootblousmile:
Jinne but you were fast there man, thanks for confirming that. Did think I may have got things wrong and it was maybe just my kop deurmekaar after being pinged by the hail as I was walking reading the article and comments. Lucky they were only small half pea size bits of hail.
@ Lion4ever:
Let’s hope so, the Bulls will tick sooner or later though
@ grootblousmile:
Wepener was the Lions’ hooker along with that guy Etienne until 2012 season when he went to France, he wasted a season at the Bulls in 2013 behind Chiliboi assigned to the bench
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