The Fidelity SecureDrive Lions (3rd) take on fourth-placed Leinster in Round 17 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in Dublin on Saturday at 18:30 (SA Time). The much-anticipated clash will see both sides fight for maximum points towards the Race to the Eight with home play-off spots on the line.
Lions mentor Ivan van Rooyen opted for a settled match 23, showing faith in the players that have done the job for him over the last three months- which has also unleashed new stars in the process.
Hard-man Etienne Oosthuizen returns to the second row after missing out against Connacht, meaning Springbok Ruan Venter returns to the familiar number 7 jersey. The tournament’s leading point scorer Chris Smith will be tasked to boss matters at the Aviva alongside the energetic Morne van den Berg. Centre turned wing Erich Cronje finds himself swopping positions with fellow flyer Angelo Davids- the former starting on the right wing on Saturday.
Speaking to the media earlier this week, assistant coach in charge of defence and former Springbok Jaque Fourie credits the successful home run his team has had and he hopes that form will continue in Dublin this weekend.
“For us now, I think we’ve had four or five big results at home, that has built a lot of confidence,” Fourie explained. “But that’s what you need when you come to Leinster to play them.”
“We’ve found our identity. We know how we want to play. We know what we need to do on Saturday to win and to beat Leinster,” he said.
Much with the team’s attacking strength over the last few fixtures, defence has been the cornerstone of how the Lions have kept sides under pressure, thus restricting their freedom to play.
“We’re using our defence as a weapon to go score tries,” he added. “For us, it’s all about putting teams under pressure, getting the ball back and then converting that pressure into points.”
“We know we haven’t achieved anything yet. We still have two big games. Our biggest challenge is Saturday in Dublin against Leinster,” he concluded.
Saturday also sees Lions centre Richard Kriel reach his 50th international match for the club.
Fidelity SecureDrive Lions
1. SJ Kotze
2. PJ Botha
3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye
4. Etienne Oosthuizen
5. Reinhard Nothnagel
6. Siba Mahashe
7. Ruan Venter
8. Francke Horn (c)
9. Morne van den Berg
10. Chris Smith
11. Angelo Davids
12. Richard Kriel
13. Henco van Wyk
14. Erich Cronje
15. Quan Horn
Replacements
16. Franco Marais
17. Eddie Davids
18. Sebastian Lombard
19. Darrien Landsberg
20. Batho Hlekani
21. JC Pretorius
22. Nico Steyn
23. Kelly Mpeku