Preview: Golden Lions v Free State Cheetahs
The Lions have swept all before them and will have to go through the entire season as the "invincibles" if they wish to lift the coveted Currie Cup.
The Free State Cheetahs have struggled to gain any consistency this season and barely scraped into the semifinals with a last-gasp 34-34 draw against the Sharks last week.
However, the Lions will be wary of complacency when they face a Cheetahs team that have been known to be extremely flamboyant in their play, often by-passing their forwards, in preference of using their backline.
The Cheetahs have made just one change to line up which started against the Sharks last weekend.
Niel Marais gets the nod at flyhalf ahead of the unconvincing Sias Ebersohn who drops to the bench.
The Lions have rarely looked so dominating through the course of a Currie Cup season and coach Johan Ackermann will be bitterly disappointed if they were to fail to beat the Cheetahs.
"We have a lot of respect for the Cheetahs and for what Franco Smith is doing there – bringing through quite a number of youngsters – and they have quite a few experienced players who are back from injury now," said Ackermann.
"They are a quality team and the one thing we saw over the weekend is that they can fight and will stay in the fight.
"We can't take anything that we have already achieved into the semifinal because the team that will prevail will be the one who handles the pressure on the day, and does the right things at the right time."
Despite annihilating the Cheetahs 73-31 in Bloemfontein earlier in the season, Ackermann will know that the Lions will have to remain calm and focused when then run out in front of an expectant capacity Ellis Park crowd on Saturday.
"Everything is quite calm at this stage but come later in the week, the excitement will definitely grow," added Ackermann.
"It's a normal week of training and preparation but we had a few guys who were a bit ill on Monday but they looked fine on Tuesday, hopefully we will be in better knick come the weekend."
Players to watch:
For Golden Lions: Flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff has rediscovered the form that saw him make such a huge impact for the Lions during the 2014 Super Rugby season. His massive punts up the field has seen his forwards gain front-foot momentum, and has given them countless opportunities to use their rolling maul. Flank Jaco Kriel has arguably been the best loose forward in the competition this season. Kriel and Lock Franco Mostert have been able to break the advantage line at will and they will be key if the they Lions are to overcome the cavalier Cheetahs.
For Free State Cheetahs: Centre Ryno Benjamin has hit a rich vain of try-scoring form over recent weeks. The veteran utility back will be looking to pounce on any Lions mistakes. Flank Johannes Prinsloo is slowly getting his way back to full fitness and has made some very influential plays off the rucks against the Sharks. He may be the difference for the Cheetahs as they attempt to beat the Lions and achieve what no other team could this season.
Head to head: The battle at the breakdown will be hotly contested. The Lions have managed to dominate this area against most other teams in the Currie Cup this season. Warren Whiteley, Steph de Witt and captain Jaco Kriel will be hoping to silence the Cheetahs loose trio of Niell Jordaan, Oupa Mohoje and Johannes Prinsloo.
Recent results:
2015: Lions won 73-31, Bloemfontein
2014: Lions won 47-7, Johannesburg
2013: Cheetahs won 26-23, Bloemfontein
2013: Cheetahs won 30-29, Johannesburg
2012: Lions won 38-23, Bloemfontein
Prediction: The Cheetahs can cause an upset based on their ability to open up the game. However, they also tend to make a huge number of mistakes, whereas the secret to the Lions' success is their ability to limit their mistake to a minimum. With a partisan crowd behind them and the team high on confidence the Lions should win this encounter easily.
Teams:
Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Steph de Witt, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Lourens Erasmus, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Replacements: 16 Robbie Coetzee, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Fabian Booysen, 19 Albertus Smith, 20 Jaco van der Walt, 21 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 22 Sampie Mastriet.
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Niell Jordaan, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Johannes Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Armandt Koster, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Jacques du Toit, 1 Burrie Gildenhuys Uys.
Replacements: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Nicolaas van Dyk, 18 Reniel Hugo, 19 Gerhard Olivier, 20 Ruan van Rensburg, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Adriaan Coertzen.
Date: Saturday, October 17
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 13.45 (11.45 GMT)
Expected Weather: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of rain, high of 26°C, wind 16 kph
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Stephan Geldenhuys
TMO: Marius Jonker
