The Emirates Lions will kick off the local United Rugby Championship round 14 games against Ospreys in Johannesburg tonight at 19h00, and this will be followed by a feast of action featuring seven matches – three of which will be hosted by the South African sides.
The Emirates Lions will have their sights set on extending their winning run at home to three matches. A victory for the hosts would mark their fifth victory of the season following a disappointing start to the competition, which is sure to inspire them going into the match.
The Ospreys have won 7 of their 12 URC games and are currently 9th on the combined URC log while the Emirates Lions only won 4 of their 12 games and are 13th on the log.
This should make the full strength Ospreys the bookies' favourites however the "new" Emirates Lions will be no pushover and could just win their 3rd URC game in a row.
The Emirates Lions are set to unleash the Tshituka brothers. The Burger Odendaal-led side sees Rabz Maxwane come in for Stean Pienaar, who picked up an injury against Munster last weekend. Scrum-half Andre Warner returns to the side replacements’ bench.
Emirates Lions Scrum Coach, Julian Redelinghuys emphasized earlier this week the importance of remaining in the process ahead of the Ospreys fixture.
“A two-game winning streak doesn’t really mean our season is back on track,” cautioned the Lions’ scrum guru.
“What we are trying to do at the moment is stay positive and maintain our processes. Key for us is continuing the hard work and pay special attention to our preparations, ensuring we put ourselves in positions to put up good performances come game day.”
“We need to look at the things we are doing well in and keep getting better at them. Coming from behind to beat Munster instilled a sense of belief within the camp and the whole vibe within the camp has been fantastic,” concluded Redelinghuys.
Morgan Morris will make his 50th appearance for the Ospreys this weekend, lining up alongside Dan Lydiate and Ethan Roots in the back row. Rhys Davies and Bradley Davies line up in the second with Nicky Smith, Sam Parry and Tom Botha up front.
The back three is formed of Dan Evans at fullback with Keelan Giles and Luke Morgan on the wings. Keiran Williams and Michael Collins form the centre partnership with Stephen Myler at 10 and Rhys Webb as Captain and scrum-half.
Off the bench, Scott Baldwin, Rhodri Jones and Rhys Henry provide the front row cover with Will Griffiths and Harri Deaves completing the pack. Reuben Morgan Williams, Tiaan Thomas Wheeler and Cai Evans complete the matchday 23.
Toby Booth, Ospreys Head coach, said: “Not one northern hemisphere side has won in South Africa in the URC, so that gives you the magnitude of the competition on this side of the world.
“They will have a lot of returning South African players into their teams and they are no doubt getting ready to peak for their Test series against Wales in the summer.
“We know this is a really tough challenge for us but it is one we are looking forward to. It’s not very often you can get a first and if we could become the first team to win here in the URC that would be great.
“The Lions start all of their games very well and score lots of their tries in the first 20 minutes of games and try to get on top of you that way. We need to make sure we are ready for that onslaught.”
Weather: 16° with 3km/h NNW wind, with light rain.
Prediction: Emirate Lions by 10.
Teams:
Emirates ions: 15. Quan Horn, 14. Rabz Maxwane, 13. Wandisile Simelane, 12. Burger Odendaal (captain), 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Jordan Hendrikse, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Emmanuel Tshituka, 7. Vincent Tshituka, 6. Francke Horn, 5. Reinhard Nothnagel, 4. Ruben Schoeman, 3. Carlu Sadie/Ruan Dreyer, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16. Pieter Botha, 17. Jean-Pierre Smith, 18. Ruan Dreyer/Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19. Ruan Venter, 20. Sibusiso Sangweni, 21. Andre Warner, 22. Manuel Rass, 23. Tiaan Swanepoel/EW Viljoen.
Ospreys: 15. Dan Evans, 14. Keelan Giles, 13. Michael Collins, 12. Keiran Williams, 11. Luke Morgan, 10. Stephen Myler, 9. Rhys Webb (c), 8. Ethan Roots, 7. Morgan Morris, 6. Dan Lydiate, 5. Bradley Davies, 4. Rhys Davies, 3. Tom Botha, 2. Sam Parry, 1. Nicky Smith. Replacements: 16. Scott Baldwin, 17. Rhodri Jones, 18. Rhys Henry, 19. Will Griffiths, 20. Harri Deaves, 21. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22. Tiaan Thomas Wheeler, 23. Cai Evans.
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