Lions turn to former WP duo for Bulls showdown
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: The Lions have revealed the side to take on the Bulls in the Currie Cup Round three fixture this weekend.
The teams will go head-to-head at the University of Johannesburg.
The Lions will be out to put in another strong performance following their win over Pumas last weekend.
The victory was a great response for the Johannesburg side after they started their campaign with a defeat to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in Round One.
Fullback and Junior Springbok Gilermo Mentoe makes his senior debut for the Lions.
Another Junior Bok in the form of Asad Moos gets a start at scrumhalf ahead of Zian Cilliers.
The former Western Province scrumhalf was named on the bench last weekend.
Speaking ahead of Saturday, Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi was cautious about taking a relaxed approach against their neighbours, despite their rough start to the competition.
“We would be silly to take the Bulls lightly this Saturday,” Nkosi said.
“They have outstanding players, coupled with a good coaching staff and probably have just had rough draw in the competition by playing their first two games away from home, including the upcoming fixture.
“I have no doubt that they’ll be up for the challenge. In fact, the last time we played against the Bulls [with the same management team], we lost to them in the u23 Cup Final at 10bet Ellis Park. There is little to no chance of us taking them lightly,” he warned
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Lions: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Keagan Smith, 13 Likhona Finca, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Morne Venter, 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 Thando Biyela, 5 Ruan Delport (captain), 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Mahle Sithole, 1 Morgan Naude.
Replacements: 16 Ruan Welman, 17 Cecil Parsons, 18 Ruan Swart, 19 Marco Ferreira, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Zian Cilliers, 22 Matthew Coetzee, 23 Exauce Kevani.
Date: Saturday, August 1
Venue: UJ Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.05 SAST; 15.05 GMT
Referee: Juan de Bod
