The Emirates Lions will have their sights set on trying to sneak into the top eight when they take on Welsh side Cardiff Rugby in a crucial Round 16 match of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday at 18:15 (SA Time).
The 11th-placed Emirates Lions will want to make up for their defeat against Munster in their last outing when they host the 12th-placed Cardiff, and with the team trailing Benetton by only five points and the prospect of edging close to a possible playoff spot, they will have all the motivation they need to come away with a win on Saturday.
The Emirates Lions' win record this season is four more than the Welsh side. Their attacking statistics will also boost their confidence as they have scored 424 points to Cardiff’s 311, which will also count in their favour as only two points separate the teams in terms of defence.
With the visitors out of the running for a playoff spot, they will, however, be driven by pride – something the Emirates Lions will be wary of when they take the field.
Emirates Lions' fullback Quan Horn, who missed out against champions Munster in Round 15, makes a welcome return to the starting XV and with that, a 50th cap for his franchise. Popular front-rower Asenathi Ntlabakanye returns to the tighthead position, with Springbok Ruan Dreyer packing down at loosehead.
A new-look back row sees the injection of the powerful Ruan Venter in concert with JC Pretorius and Francke Horn. The explosive Emmanuel Tshituka will be tasked to provide impact from the bench.
The team’s forwards and lineout specialist Barend Pieterse believes consistency from his side over the next three games will enhance their play-off chances as the race to the top-eight intensifies.
“We need to get as many points out of this week’s game, and then again next week. But the top-eight dream is still alive for us, and that’s genuinely something that we talk about and train for every day,” he told reporters.
Commenting on the opposition ahead of Saturday, the former Lions lock expects them to have studied recent performances and draw tactics to employ against Marius Louw’s men.
“They are a good team and they’ll get confidence from that game against Munster we played here [two weeks ago], and take stuff out of that.
“But from our side, we have to be better in our set piece, particularly the execution. We have to be in their face, we can’t let them run on to us, and on defence we have to get off the line.
“We have to give our backs solid enough ball from our scrums and lineouts and when we’re close to our tryline, we have to come away with points.
Matt Sherratt has made five changes for Cardiff’s clash with the Emirates Lions.
Four of the changes come in the pack with recently capped international Evan Lloyd handed an opportunity at hooker. Rory Thornton and James Botham also step up from the bench, while Seb Davies returns to action, which sees Ben Donnell move into the back-row.
There is one further change in the back line with Gabriel Hamer-Webb making his first appearance since returning back to the club, replacing Harri Millard, who has not travelled due to injury.
Sherratt said: “It’s great to be out here in South Africa and the boys are looking forward to getting into action in Johannesburg on Saturday evening.
“It is always a time of year the boys look forward to and it is beneficial to spend an extended period together as a squad.
“But as much as we will enjoy our time together here we are determined to give a really good account of ourselves and not let our season fizzle out. We have spoken all year about fighting for the badge and playing with ambition and that’s exactly what we will continue to do.
“The Lions are a top quality team, who are packed with talented athletes and have a backline who can cause lots of problems if you give them too much space.
“But we are going to Ellis Park to do a job, we have a game-plan, which will hopefully allow us to imprint our game on them, and we will do everything in our power to make our supporters proud.”
Ben Thomas, one of 16 pathway products in the match-day 23, will captain the side just days after becoming a father for the first time.
There are also welcome returns to fitness for Rhys Litterick and Max Clark, who are named on the bench.
Teams
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Ruan Dreyer. Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Conraad van Vuren, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Hanru Sirgel, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Gianni Lombard.
Cardiff Rugby: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Theo Cabango, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Mackenzie Martin, 7 James Botham, 6 Ben Donnell, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Rhys Carre. Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Jacob Beetham, 23 Max Clark.