The Fidelity SecureDrive Lions head into Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round 16 clash against Irish side Connacht with a few minor adjustments as they continue to solidify their place in the Race to the Eight at Ellis Park at 16:00 (SA Time). With the competition firmly poised for a grandstand finish, the remaining games will decide play-off places and home advantage, not to mention Champions Cup qualification. The visitors will fancy their chances on the Highveld against a high-flying Lions outfit who, without a doubt, have played an exciting brand of rugby in recent weeks.
The club’s head coach, Ivan van Rooyen, has made four changes ahead of the weekend, one of them positional, which sees Springbok Ruan Venter join the second row in place of Etienne Oosthuizen, who is nursing a niggle. Youngster Batho Hlekani is elevated from the bench to take Venter’s place at flank.
The highlight of the weekend, however, is that of hooker PJ Botha, who runs out for his 100th match for the Lions across all international club competitions. The 28-year-old Hoërskool Monument old boy, often the unsung hero of the Lions’ pack, enjoys a decade of experience at the franchise, having shadowed the likes of Springbok Malcolm Marx and recently retired Jaco Visagie.
“When I was still at school, I thought it would be nice to maybe play one or two matches for a franchise in an international competition,” he joked.
“To now reach 100 is incredible. The time has flown. It’s a privilege for me to reach this milestone, and I’m grateful that it will happen in a home match.”
Also speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash against Stuart Lancaster’s men was Lions scrum guru Julian Redelinghuys, who upon comparison, pointed out that Connacht had a similar approach to Glasgow Warriors, whom the Lions mauled 54-12 almost a week ago.
“We know what they will bring. We know their game model. It’s not easy to defend or attack against it, but if we do what we need to do well, I am sure there will be opportunities,” he concluded.
In other team news, Morne Brandon returns to the match-day squad, offering impact from the bench. Also in the mix is Siba Qoma, who provides second row cover.
Fidelity SecureDrive Lions: 1 SJ Kotze, 2 PJ Botha, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 4 Ruan Venter, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 6 Siba Mahashe, 7 Batho Hlekani, 8 Francke Horn (c), 9 Morne van den Berg, 10 Chris Smith, 11 Erich Cronje, 12 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 14 Angelo Davids, 15 Quan Horn, Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Kelly Mpeku.