Lions v Cheetahs - teams and prediction

PREVIEW: On current form, the Lions should be considered firm favourites against defending champions, the Cheetahs, when the two sides meet in the semifinal of the Currie Cup at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions ended their pool stage in first position in the standings and they did so mostly with the help of their youngsters while their United Rugby Championship players were on a break.

But this Lions team is brimming with young talent.

One of the finds of the season must be Renzo du Plessis, also the top try scorer in the competition, and then there are also players like Nico Steyn, Quan Horn, Ruan Venter, JC Pretorius, and Sanele Nohamba to name but a few.

It is expected that coach Mziwakhe Nkosi will draw on some of the more experienced players, but the bulk of the team will show the same young faces that took the team to the top of the pile.

“We are obviously looking forward to Saturday. Everyone is excited for the weekend and it is a big one for us in the grand scheme of things,” Nkosi said at a media briefing this week.

“We have played a large part of the competition with eight Under-21s and a few 22-year-olds. So it has been successful in them carrying us to the semis in that respect.”

The preview continues below…

While the Cheetahs are the defending Currie Cup champions, it wasn’t all smooth sailing this season.

They beat the Pumas 41–14 in Mbombela last weekend, but before that had a losing streak of three games against the Sharks, Lions, and Griquas.

Nkosi made it clear the Cheetahs are not a team that can be written off and pointed to the dangers they can pose.

“I think they have been strong. Like any team, they hit a bit of a dip in form at a crucial stage of the competition, but they are still a quality team,” said Nkosi.

“They have players like (Dan) Kasende, (Jeandre) Rudolph, Ethan Wentzel who has come nicely out of the Varsity Cup, and Corne Fourie who used to be here with us. So they are an experienced and talented team, and we expect them to come and try to tear the skin off our backs.”

The Lions won nine of their 10 games in the pool stages, including a 38-21 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

Their only slip-up came at home against the Sharks, and Nkosi believes that result rallied them to where they are now.

“We spoke a lot about getting a home playoff, and we know in competitions like these how important a home playoff is.

In terms of a home final we can’t think that far ahead, we have to tick the box this weekend first,” explained Nkosi.

“In the Sharks game we let ourselves down badly, the players will be the first to admit that. But I am proud of how the guys rallied up after that and we have now gone about five (wins) on the trot to put us in this position.”

Captain Jaco Visagie echoed his coach’s sentiments about the Cheetahs.

“I have played against the Cheetahs quite a few times, played them in a final, lost there in Bloemfontein.

“Playing them there is a different ball game so really happy playing them at home where our fans can come out and support,” Visagie said.

The Lions’ Tapiwa Mafura will earn the distinction of playing in three consecutive semifinals for three different teams.

In 2022, he played for the Pumas against the Cheetahs, and in 2023 he played for the Cheetahs against the Pumas.

In both the previous years, he was in the winning team which also went on to win the Currie Cup.

But things haven’t gone smoothly for the Cheetahs in this year’s competition.

The preview continues below…

One of the Cheetahs’ Achilles heels this season has been poor discipline and it is something that they would look to rectify.

Against a team like the Lions with their attacking backs, and ability to turn every advantage into points, the Cheetahs might have taken a special class on the rule book this week.

Toughest since Covid

Frans Steyn, the Cheetahs’ Director of Rugby, said the Currie Cup is by no means watered down this year and he thought the bigger unions managed it well.

“I think the team that wins it this year, deserves to win it,” Steyn commented.

“I think this season’s Currie Cup has been the toughest since Covid.”

“There are still a lot of mistakes and a lot of areas we can do better.”

He referred to the tough road the Cheetahs had in the competition this season and admitted things haven’t always gone to plan.

Cheetahs’ captain Oupa Mohoje said there is a good history between the two teams. “We don’t take it for granted, and we also know how important it is for the people of the Free State.

“We really enjoyed ourselves last week [against the Pumas] and we would like to relive it.” the captain said.

Prediction:

@Rugby365: Lions by 15 points

Teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Rynhardt Jonker, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Tapiwa Mafura, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 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 (captain), 1 Morgan Naude
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Conrad van Vuuren, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 JC Pretorius, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Kelly Mpeku

Cheetahs: 15 Michael Annies, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Evardi Boshoff, 11 Daniel Kasende, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Jandre Nel, 8 Jeandre Rudolph, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Corne Fourie, 1 Schalk Ferreira.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Friedle Olivier, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22 George Lourens, 23 Litha Nkula

Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Date: Saturday, September 14
Time: 14.30 (12.30 GMT)
Referee: Christopher Allison