The Emirates Lions will be determined to build on their morale-boosting 44-12 victory against Leinster when they take on Munster at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday at 17:00 (SA Time), and will enter the match well aware of the importance of a victory to possibly power their way back into the top eight.
The Gautengers will, however, be wary of the Irish giants, who are currently in third place on the log after registering nine wins in their 14 matches – the last of which was a valuable bonus-point win against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria last weekend – and who have their sights firmly set on possibly hopping into the top two in the next few weeks.
Home ground advantage aside, the Johannesburgers will draw encouragement from the fact that they have scored 66 more points than the visitors to date, but they will be mindful of the fact that Munster is the second-best defensive team in the competition, which should set the scene for a thrilling clash.
URC champions Munster are drawing inspiration from last season’s title triumph as they look to continue their winning ways in South Africa.
The Irish province lifted the trophy by famously beating the Stormers out in Cape Town in the final and they recorded another notable triumph in the Rainbow Nation with last weekend’s 27-22 bonus point victory over the Bulls in Pretoria.
Now they have moved on to Johannesburg for another test at altitude against the play-off chasing Lions.
In team news, Jordan Hendrikse runs out for his 50th international match for the Emirates Lions from the fullback position, replacing the injured Quan Horn who suffered a shoulder niggle during the week. The side will also be without star centre Henco van Wyk for the rest of the season due to an injury he picked up against Leinster.
A welcome return for Ruan Venter on the bench as well as Gianni Lombard who covers at flyhalf and fullback.
Emirates Lions scrum expert Julian Redelinghuys cautioned earlier this week that while their Irish opponents boast a host of internationals, focus should not be placed on that too much but rather on his team’s processes ahead of Saturday.
“For us to have success this weekend we will have to focus on ourselves, focus on our processes and not allow the Munster’s star power to distract us. If you focus too much on other things, you tend to forget what you need to do so it’s vitally important that we concentrate on us while being aware of what we will be up against,” he said.
There is one change to the side that beat Bulls last weekend as Seán O’Brien makes his first start at inside centre for Munster on his 16th appearance of the campaign.
John Hodnett misses out due to a leg knock.
Head coach Graham Rowntree said: “Coming away from home, you can always call upon those true memories, not just false belief, but true memories of what happened last year on the road.
“I think we do turn to that as a reference point, that actually happened. That gives us belief to do what we did on the road last year. You can call upon that.
“We like it here. We have got fond memories. The weather is good, there are good restaurants, nice hotels, which is important.”
Rowntree is expecting a stern challenge from the Lions, who thumped league leaders Lei 44-12 last weekend.
“It will take some doing (to win),” he said.
“This Lions team is highly underrated. They can play rugby and they can muscle up as well. They’re a hard team.
“You saw what they did to Connacht, you saw what they did to Leinster last week. We’ve got our hands full.”
Teams
Emirates Lions: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Morgan Naude. Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 JP Smith, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Ruan Venter, 21 Sibusiso Sangweni, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Gianni Lombard.
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Seán O’Brien, 11 Shane Daly 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 RG Snyman, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jeremy Loughman. Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Tom Ahern, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Mike Haley.