Lions have their eyes on the prize

The Fidelity SecureDrive Lions head into Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against Irish side Connacht with a few minor adjustments to their side as they look to continue to solidify their place in the Race to the Eight at Ellis Park.

The visitors will fancy their chances on the Highveld against a high-flying Lions outfit who without a doubt have played an exciting brand of rugby in recent weeks.

Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has made four changes ahead of the weekend, one of them positional which sees Springbok Ruan Venter join the second row in place of Etienne Oosthuizen who is nursing a niggle. Youngster Batho Hlekani is elevated from the bench to take Venter’s place at flank.

The highlight of the weekend however is that of hooker PJ Botha who runs out for his 100th match for the Lions across all international club competitions. The 28-year-old Hoërskool Monument old boy, often the unsung hero of the Lions’ pack, enjoys a decade of experience at the franchise, having shadowed the likes of Springbok Malcolm Marx and recently retired Jaco Visagie.

“When I was still at school, I thought it would be nice to maybe play one or two matches for a franchise in an international competition,” he joked.

“To now reach 100 is incredible. The time has flown. It’s a privilege for me to reach this milestone and I’m grateful that it will happen in a home match.”

Also speaking ahead Saturday’s clash against Stuart Lancaster’s men was Lions scrum guru Julian Redelinghuys, who upon comparison, pointed out that Connacht had a similar approach to Glasgow Warriors who the Lions mauled 54-12 last weekend.

“We know what they will bring. We know their game model. It’s not easy to defend or attack against it but if we do what we need to do well, I am sure there will be opportunities,” he concluded.

In other team news, Morne Brandon returns to the match day squad offering impact from the bench. Also in the mix is Siba Qoma who provides second row cover.

Connacht Rugby head coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Having relocated here to Johannesburg we have quickly turned the page to the Lions and we are under no illusions tomorrow is another massive challenge. The Lions are the form team in South African rugby right now with five straight wins under their belt and like ourselves are fighting to secure a play-off spot.

“They’re very well coached with x-factor players across the pitch and play a great brand of attacking and offloading rugby, so we know we have to be ready to meet that challenge from the first minute as their performance against Glasgow was excellent.”

Fidelity SecureDrive Lions starting XV: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje; 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg; 8 Francke Horn (capt), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe; 5 Darrien landsberg, 4 Ruan Venter; 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Kelly Mpeku.

SATURDAY

Fidelity SecureDrive Lions v Connacht Rugby

Ellis Park, Johannesburg – KO 3pm IRE & UK/4pm ITA & SA

Referee: Filippo Russo (FIR, 8th game)

AR1: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)

AR2: Jonathan Lottering (SARU)

TMO: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)

Live on: SuperSport, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv