Fidelity ADT Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has named his matchday 23 to host the DHL Stormers in a crucial clash this Friday, 28 August 2026 at 17:05 SAST.
With a potential play-off spot on the line, Nkosi has made key adjustments to his starting fifteen following their previous outing against the Hollywoodbets Sharks. Ethan Adams gets the nod at outside centre, marking his highly anticipated first home game since joining the Johannesburg franchise.
In a forced change to the backline, Matt Coetzee starts at flyhalf to direct traffic, stepping in for Sam Francis who misses out due to injury. The pack sees a rotation in the front row with Ruan Swart starting at tighthead prop, while Conraad van Vuuren moves to the replacements bench.
In the loose forwards, Jarod Cairns retains the captaincy but shifts to Number 8, with Renzo du Plessis moving to the flank to accommodate the positional change.
Head Coach Mziwakhe Nkosi emphasised that home ground advantage is crucial ahead of tomorrow's high-stakes derby: "Playing at 10bet Ellis Park is massive for us. With the play-off race so tight, we need to leverage our home crowd and execution to secure the points we need."
Fidelity ADT Lions: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Keagan Smith, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Latica Nela, 10 Matt Coetzee, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Jarod Cairns (c), 7 Renzo du Plessis, 6 Thando Biyela, 5 JD Hattingh, 4 Siba Qoma, 3 Ruan Swart, 2 Armand Combrinck, 1 Juan Schoeman. Replacements: 16 Mahle Sithole, 17 Cecil Parsons, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Marco Ferreira, 21 Zian Cilliers, 22 Exauce Kevani, 23 Luke Cannon.
