Nohamba at 10 as Lions chase Currie Cup glory

Ruben Schoeman will be at the heart of the Fidelity ADT Lions' pack for the Carling Cup final against the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV on Saturday.

Fidelity ADT Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has made one change to his starting XV ahead of the Carling Currie Cup final against the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV taking place at Emirates Airline Park this Saturday (4pm kick-off).

Sanele Nohamba starts from the flyhalf position ahead of Kade Wolhuter. The diminutive pivot will be responsible for steering the side’s attack after an impressive cameo in last week’s semi-final against the Toyota Cheetahs.

The Johannesburg franchise has maintained a fairly consistent line-up throughout the campaign under the captaincy of Jaco Visagie, with a number of young players grabbing their opportunities at this level.

Lions tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who scored perhaps one of the standout tries of the competition last Saturday, believes his side needs to be more accurate on execution against a Sharks side who will be beaming with confidence after their 100 minute marathon match against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus last weekend.

“Our set-piece was below par last week so that’s something we need to work on,” said the former St Stithians College scholar.

“If you look at last week’s semi-final, we scored tries but conceded easy points immediately after that. So those are the things we have been working hard on this week in our preparations. All in all, we look forward to Saturday as both players and the fans coming out to support the team,” he concluded.

Fidelity ADT Lions starting XV: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Rynhardt Jonker, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Tapiwa Mafura; 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Nico Steyn; 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Renzo du Plessis; 5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman; 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie (capt), 1 Morgan Naude. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Siba Qoma, 20 Raynard Roets, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Kelly Mpeku.

Hollywoodbets Sharks XV starting XV: 15 Jordan Hendrikse, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Jurenzo Julius, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker; 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Bradley Davids; 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka (capt), 6 James Venter; 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne’ Rahl; 3 Hanro Jacobs, 2 Fez Mbatha, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu. Replacements: 16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Mawande Mdande, 19 Jason Jenkins, 20 Gerbrandt Grobler, 21 Tinotenda Mavesere, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Lionel Cronje.