Lions’ trio get front row seats
Ackermann rests tried and tested men upfront while Vorster gets a start
THE Lions’ under-rated, but hugely potent firstchoice 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, “the angry warthog” 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 afternoon to determine the extent of the ligament damage in his right knee.
The Lions are today expected to announce for how long the powerful centre will be out of the game.
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.
Earlier in the campaign though, the Jaguares got the better of a weakened Lions side in Buenos Aires, winning 36-24 – the Lions’ only loss so far.
Jaguares coach Raul Perez made five changes to his team for the match against the Bulls last weekend, with star flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez playing off the bench – Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias started – but he is expected back at No 10 for tomorrow’s match. Perez will name his side today.
LIONSTEAMV JAGUARES
STARTING XV: Andries Coetzee, Madosh Tambwe, Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Courtnall Skosan, Elton Jantjies, Ross Cronje, Warren Whiteley (capt), Ruan Ackermann, Jaco Kriel, Franco Mostert, Andries Ferreira, Johannes Jonker, Akker van der Merwe, Corne Fourie; REPLACEMENTS: Malcolm Marx, Ruan Dreyer, Jacques van Rooyen, Lourens Erasmus, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Jacques Nel, Sylvian Mahuza
Overconfidence
The last time the Lions ran out at home, on April 1, they edged the Sharks 34-29 in a pulsating game and then last week followed that up (with a bye in between) with an even more impressive 29-16 bonus-point win over the then unbeaten Stormers at Newlands. Johan Ackermann’s men have won six of seven games and sit comfortably at the top of their conference; and the last time they lost at Ellis Park was almost exactly a year ago, on April 30, against the Hurricanes. The Lions have reason to have their chests puffed out.
The Aussie factor
After tomorrow’s game, the Lions climb on the plane and head to Australia for their three away matches, against the Western Force, Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies. They know neither of those sides would beat them at home and they also know they have a great chance of picking up a minimum of 10 points from their trip. Only the Brumbies, honestly, should provide a stern test. They must guard against getting ahead of themselves and focus only on what challenge the Jaguares will bring.
A winning record
Last year when the men from Buenos Aires visited Ellis Park, the Lions dished out a hiding, winning 52-24, and scoring eight tries to two in the process, but when the Lions visited Argentina at the end of the round robin stage, it was the home team that triumphed 34-22 and this season, also in the Argentine capital, they won 36-24, inflicting the only defeat the Lions have suffered this year. It is true the Lions were much weakened for those two trips to South America, but the Jaguares will still believe they have one over their hosts this week.
Test pedigree
With four wins from seven games the Jaguares have made a big step up from last season and with 20 tries behind their name, they’re not the worst side in the competition. They’re stacked with experience in all departments with just about every member of the team having represented Argentina in Test rugby and they’re certainly no easy-beats. They’re ever-improving and in captain Agustin Creevy have a leader who inspires everyone around him. The Lions had better be switched on.