Ackermann to rest his tried and tested men up front
JOHANNESBURG: The Lions’ under-rated, but hugely potent first-choice front row have been given some “time off” for tomorrow’s round nine Super Rugby match against the Jaguares at Ellis Park.
Coach Johan Ackermann has opted to rest Stormers slayers Ruan Dreyer, Malcolm Marx and Jacques van Rooyen, who’ll all play off the bench against the men from South America. They have featured as the starting front row in the majority of the Lions’ matches this season. Starting in their places will be former Border rookie Johannes Jonker, Akker van der Merwe and the unmovable Corne Fourie.
They are the only changes to the pack that did so well against the Stormers at Newlands last weekend. Taking his place on the side of the scrum will be Jaco Kriel, who was yesterday cleared to play after appearing before a judicial hearing following his late charge on Stormers No 10 Rob du Preez last Saturday.
Kriel, who received a yellow card for the incident at Newlands – when he tried to charge down a clearance kick by Du Preez – pleaded not guilty to the charge and therefore had to defend himself in front of a disciplinary panel. That was not the only good news the Lions received yesterday. Fullback Andries Coetzee passed a concussion test, while Ruan Ackermann was also given the all-clear after hurting his left knee against the Stormers.
The only change among the backs is at inside centre where Harold Vorster starts ahead of Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who he replaced early on at Newlands after the latter picked up a knee injury.
Janse van Rensburg saw a knee specialist yesterday to determine the extent of the ligament damage in his right knee.
The Lions are today expected to announce for how long the centre will be out.Ackermann will hope no further issues affect his midfielders after Howard Mnisi was ruled out of action for the season earlier in the competition. Jacques Nel, who’s been in the Lions set-up for a while and is the brother of Sevens star Ruhan, has moved on to the bench.
The Lions go into tomorrow’s game on the back of an impressive bonus-point win against the Stormers – their sixth victory in seven outings this season, while the Jaguares are coming off a defeat by the Bulls.