Springbok bruiser Ruan Venter slots back into the Lions' loose-trio after an impressive international debut against Portugal in Bloemfontein last week.
The men from Doornfontein are back at Emirates Airline Park this Saturday to face the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV (3pm kick-off) after a hard-fought victory against the Suzuki Griquas last Friday.
Head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has maintained a consistent Match 23 ahead of the Round 4 encounter with the Sharks. Tighthead prop Conrad van Vuuren is one of two changes in the starting XV, the other being Venter in place of Sibabalo Qoma, who left the field early last week.
Lock Etienne Oosthuizen joins the Match 23 as cover in the lock department.
Nkosi ahead of Saturday's clash: “We were happy with the win last week against the Griquas but it was far from a satisfactory performance on our part. We’ve worked on one or two things ahead of the Sharks this weekend so hopefully we can make the people of Joburg proud.
“Looking back at our first encounter against the Sharks in Round 1, they went down, albeit narrowly, to us, so they’ll probably feel like they owe us one. We’ve got to be up for it come Saturday.”
For the Sharks this week presents the opportunity for their young team to continue to grow and gel together. The first three rounds have been characterized by a mix of frustrations and positive outcomes and head coach JP Pietersen will be looking for his team to deliver a comprehensive performance against the unbeaten Lions.
Pietersen has made a number of changes this week, including naming a handful of debutants who get their first taste of Carling Currie Cup rugby.
There are two changes amongst the forwards, tighthead prop Mawande Mdanda starts for IG Prinsloo while Batho Hlekani makes his debut, starting at lock ahead of Reinier Viljoen.
Lionel Cronje returns after missing last week’s match, replacing Tiaan Swanepoel at flyhalf, while Jaco Williams gets a start after playing off the bench, in for Eduan Keyter in a straight jersey swap.
There is a new midfield pairing at centre, both debutants, with Jurenzo Julius and Lili Bester in for Alwayno Visagie and Muller du Plessis respectively.
On the bench, there are further first games in the Black and White jersey, hooker Bryce Calvert, fellow forwards Kabous Bezuidenhout and Hennie Sieberhagen, and utility back Scott Nel.
Fidelity ADT Lions starting XV: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku; 10 Sam Francis, 9 Nico Steyn; 8 Ruhan Straeuli, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns; 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Raynard Roets; 3 Conrad van Vuuren, 2 Jaco Visagie (capt), 1 Morgan Naude. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Luca Ribbens, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Layton Horn, 23 Zander du Plessis.
Hollywoodbets Sharks XV starting XV: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Lili Bester, 12, Jurenzo Julius, 11 Jaco Williams; 10 Lionel Cronje, 9 Bradley Davids; 8 Nick Hatton (capt), 7 Jannes Potgieter, 6 Siya Ningiza; 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Batho Hlekani; 3 Mawande Mdanda, 2 Daniel Jooste, 1 Abraham Reyneke. Replacements: 16 Bryce Calvert, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Kabous Bezuidenhout, 19 Hennie Sieberhagen, 20 Tino Mavesere, 21 Tiaan Meyer, 22 Scott Nel, 23 Eduan Keyter.
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