The Fidelity ADT Lions are in action this Saturday at Emirates Airline Park against the Cell C Sharks in Round 4 of the Currie Cup. Kick-off is at 15:30 (SA Time).
The Jaco Visagie-led side is fresh from an incredible come-from-behind 41-26 win against the NovaVIT Griffons a week ago and is hoping to take that momentum into this weekend’s clash against the men for Durban.
Last week’s hat-trick hero scrumhalf Nico Steyn retains his place in the starting XV after a riveting 11-minute blitz of tries last week. Sibusiso Sangweni, PJ Steenkamp and Jarod Cairns form a formidable loose trio. On the bench, Matt More comes in for backline cover.
Fidelity ADT Lions captain Jaco Visagie said “The half-time chat last week was the changing point for us because we knew we needed to be better. Getting those points places us in a position where we can now build.”
“I think physically we are certainly not far off at all. With more game time and time spent together, we can make an impact on all facets of our game especially when it comes to starting well.”
Looking ahead to the Cell C Sharks, Visagie believes a high-paced game could put the opposition under pressure on Saturday.
“Key for this week for us is to pick up the tempo and with that, keep ball in hand. I think we can put them under pressure if we speed up the game and eliminate small mistakes; in other words, avoiding a stop/start approach to the game,” he concluded.
Fidelity ADT Lions: 15. Tiaan Swanepoel, 14. Boldwin Hansen, 13. Stean Pienaar, 12. Tyler Bocks, 11. Ilunga Mukendi, 10. Vaughen Isaacs, 9. Nico Steyn, 8. Jarod Cairns, 7. Peter-John Steenkamp, 6. Sibusiso Sangweni, 5. Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4. Raynard Roets, 3. Ruan Smith, 2. Jaco Visagie (c), 1. Sithembiso Sithole. Replacements: 16. Michael van Vuuren, 17. Morne Brandon, 18. Kabous Bezuidenhout, 19. Ruan Delport, 20. Ruhan Straeuli, 21. Renzo du Plessis, 22. Jurich Claasens, 23. Matt More.