Lewis set to earn 50th Kavaliers cap against the Lions

Former Roses United and CPUT stalwart Jurick Lewis will make his 50th appearance for the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers when the Wellington side travels to Johannesburg to face the Fidelity ADT Lions.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Wits Rugby Stadium on Friday at 3pm.

Cornell Engelbrecht comes in for Domenic Smit on the right wing to form the back three with Jayden Bantom (fullback) and Xavier Mitchell (left wing).

Both Domenic and Chris Smit are sidelined due to contracting the flu earlier this week.

Louis Schreuder and Ashlon Davids have been selected as the halfback pairing while Godlen Masimla and James Tedder provide cover on the bench for the backline.

The team will be captained by Marlyn Williams, with regular skipper Thurlow Marsh named among the reserves. Williams and Johnré Stopforth have been named as the lock duo, with Kwanda Dimaza, Gift Dlamini and Khwezi Mafu forming the loose trio.

For a second week, the front row remains unchanged with Dayan van der Westhuizen and Mthokozisi Gumede packing down on either side of Joshua Eras, who will be donning the No 2 jersey.

Darnell Osuagwu, Dewald Maritz and Heiko Pohlmann will provide reinforcements on the replacements for the front rankers.

Jeandré Leonard and Sibusiso Sangweni complete the forward replacements on the bench, with Sangweni making his return to the match-day squad after sustaining an injury in one of the pre-season warm-up matches.

Lewis, who made his debut for the Kavaliers against the Valke in April 2022, will pair up with fellow CPUT alum Lunathi Nxele for the eighth time this year.

“Jurick is a very talented player, very good on attack, big and strong, and gets us quality ball,” said Hawies Fourie, head coach of the Kavaliers.

“It is a remarkable achievement to play 50 matches for the Kavaliers and he has worked very hard to secure his place in the starting lineup throughout the SA Cup. There is tough competition among the centres, so it was not easy to get into the starting lineup.

“I am happy for him that he is able to reach this milestone; I believe it is special for any player these days to play 50-plus matches for a union, as it happens less and less frequently in the professional era. I think it is special for Jurick and we believe it will be a match he remembers forever.”

Sanlam Boland Kavaliers starting XV: 15 Jayden Bantom, 14 Cornell Engelbrecht, 13 Lunathi Nxele, 12 Jurick Lewis, 11 Xavier Mitchell; 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Louis Schreuder; 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Khwezi Mafu, 6 Gift Dlamini; 5 Marlyn Williams (capt), 4 Johnré Stopforth; 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Joshua Eras, 1 Mthokozisi Gumede. Replacements: 16 Darnell Osuagwu, 17 Dewald Maritz, 18 Heiko Pohlmann, 19 Jeandré Leonard, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Thurlow Marsh, 22 Godlen Masimla, 23 James Tedder.

Fidelity ADT Lions v Sanlam Boland Kavaliers - Friday @ Wits Rugby Stadium, Johannesburg (3pm)

Referee: Hanru van Rooyen