'Unknown' Skosan to trouble Tahs
Lions coach Johan Ackermann has changed his backline to give the Waratahs something to think about ahead of their Super Rugby showdown on Sunday.
Ackermann named an unchanged pack, as the Lions look for their first win on their Australasian tour – following defeats to the Chiefs and Highlanders in New Zealand, the latter a game in which they were robbed by a refereeing clanger and going down 22-23.
However, the coach shuffled the backs by naming two new wings and moving a wing to fullback.
JW Jonker will start at left wing in place of Anthony Volmink, with Deon van Rensburg filling the right wing berth.
Courtnall Skosan moves from the right wing to fullback. Chrysander Botha, the fullback last week, drops down to the replacement bench.
There is one other change to the bench – Ruan Dreyer comes back to provide front row cover and Jacques van Rooyen dropping out of the matchday 23.
The Lions coach, in an interview with rugby365 from the team's base in Sydney, said he hopes that the decision to move Skosan to fullback will make him something of an unknown factor for the Tahs.
"We were impressed with Courtnall during the period that he shifted to fullback [against the Highlanders] last week," the Lions coach said of the 20-odd minutes Skosan played in the No.15 jersey in Dunedin.
"JW [Jonker] has been pushing hard for a starting spot," Ackermann said, adding: "We also feel that in JW and Deon [van Rensburg] we have two players who can carry the ball up strongly and be an asset.
"But mainly, we hope that Courtnall will be an unknown factor to them from the back.
"He hasn't played much there [at fullback], so they would not have seen much of him. He is also good under the high ball."
The Lions mentor said the changes would also not affect his team's defensive patterns.
"We won't lose anything in terms of our defence, as Deon [van Rensburg] and JW [Jonker] are two of our stronger and more experienced players, so we should be fine there.
"I also have confidence in Courtnall that he will fulfil his role in the back three in this regard.
"We worked on it [his defence] this week, so we don't feel it will be a major adjustment for him."
Lions: 15 Courtnall Skosan, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 JW Jonker, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Rudi Matthee, 20 Warwick Tecklenburg, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Chrysander Botha.
Date: Sunday, May 18
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 16.05 (06.05 GMT; 08.05 SAST)
Referee: Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Lees (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)
