The Lions will be determined to break their disappointing cycle in which they registered back-to-back draws in the EPCR Challenge Cup and Vodacom URC competitions when they take on an injury-ravaged Vodacom Bulls, who also come off two morale-boosting away victories over Section Paloise (Investec Champions Cup) and Edinburgh (Vodacom URC), at Ellis Park at 14:30 (SA Time).
The Lions will secure their first-ever United Rugby Championship season-double against the Vodacom Bulls. History, however, still favours the Bulls. Pretoria’s outfit has won seven of the nine league meetings between the sides and has a 100% record at Ellispark, having won four from four matches.
Spicing up the clash even more, both teams have registered four victories in their nine Vodacom URC matches to date, although the Lions’ draw last week and extra bonus points have seen them top the Pretoria side on the table, while they will also look to build on their more effective attack in the competition to date, in which they scored 250 points to the opposition’s 211.
They will, however, be wary of the fact that the Vodacom Bulls have leaked 17 points fewer than them in the competition so far, and with two wins out of two at home in the showpiece, they will bank on their home ground advantage to see them double up on their 43-33 victory against the Pretoria side in Round 6 – a result that will undoubtedly boost their confidence.
That said, the Pretoria side has only won two of their six matches away from home this season, the last of which was their nail-biting 19-17 victory last week in Scotland, which will bolster their confidence going into the match.
Interestingly, the Lions have only suffered one defeat against a local team this season, while the Vodacom Bulls have yet to win one, which will set the scene for an entertaining match at the iconic stadium in Doornfontein.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has made only one change to his starting XV, with Jarod Cairns starting at openside flank and Renzo du Plessis dropping down to the bench.
The Bulls only retained Springboks Handre Pollard and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the backline that started in last weekend’s win against Edinburgh.
Willie le Roux was not considered due to national rest protocols, opening the door for Devon Williams at fullback, while Stravino Jacobs and Stedman Gans were promoted to the starting XV after Cheswill Jooste and Sebastian de Klerk suffered concussions in Scotland.
In the loose forwards, Elrich Louw returns at openside flank, replacing Mpilo Gumede, who shifts to the bench. The engine room also sees rotation, with Reinhardt Ludwig in at lock in place of Ruan Nortje, who failed a late fitness test, while Cobus Wiese is added to the matchday squad on the bench to bolster physicality late on.
Teams:
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Richard Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (8), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Reinnhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Scheoman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Erich Cronje.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Stravino Jacobs, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marcell Coetzee (captain), 5 Reinhardt Ludwig, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Replacements: 16 Marco van Staden, 17 Alu Tshakweni, 18 Mornay Smith, 19 Cobus Wiese, 20 Mpilo Gumede, 21 Nizaam Carr, 22 Keagan Johannes, 23 David Kriel.