Lions loose forward heavy for Sharks
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Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann has opted largely for consistency in his starting team but has bolstered his loose forwards on the bench.
The starting team remains the same as the one that beat the Cheetahs 47-7 last weekend in the final pool-stage game of the Currie Cup.
However, on the bench, Albertus Smith is added after returning from Sevens duty on the Gold coast where the BlitzBokke came in fourth place.
He joins Willie Britz and Warwick Tecklenburg in a showing of the coach's tactics as he drops a prop in Jacques van Rooyen from the bench.
This seems to indicate that Ackermann is expecting a battle in the tight loose against the Sharks and he feels he can get some ascendency in that facet.
This may be a similar tactic to when the Lions scrum was able to dominate the Cheetahs last week when Ackermann went for a full front row on the bench.
The Lions will play the Sharks, who defeated the table-topping Western province team 28-20 last weekend, at Ellis park in the first semifinal of the weekend.
Later on, Western province will host the Blue Bulls at Newlands with the winner of each match going on to contest the Currie Cup Final on October 25.
Golden Lions: 15 Jaco van der Walt, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacments: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Willie Britz, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Albertus Smith, 21 Mark Richards, 22 Harold Vorster.
Date: Saturday, October 18
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 14.30 (12.30 GMT)
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Sieg van Staden
TMO: Johan Greeff
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