Lions get their line-out general back
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has revealed his team to face Cardiff in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Instrumental lock forward Reinhard Nothnagel makes his return to the Lions’ matchday 23 for their rescheduled United Rugby Championship fixture.
Sunday’s clash takes place four months after the original fixture was postponed amid Covid-19 concerns.
The return of Nothnagel relieves the pressure at lock for the Lions, and his inclusion certainly bodes well for the Johannesburg-based team come line-out time.
“We’re pretty pleased to have Notties [Nothnagel] back. Our line-out stocks have been quite thin due to injuries, so to have him at No.5 is quite exciting,” said Van Rooyen.
The match 23 also sees the return of the Tshituka brothers, after missing out on the recent Leinster trip.
Van Rooyen further went on to say that although he and his management had long prepared for Cardiff Rugby, additional homework was necessary leading up to Sunday.
“Cardiff Rugby will be an interesting tussle this Sunday. They will be our first international team we face at home in the competition.”
“We had prepared quite intensely for them previously, so this week has been focused on tweaking a few things having analysed their play over the past two months.”
“It’s a home game so we are backing ourselves for a positive result. The players are feeling upbeat attitude-wise, especially after our spirited performance away to Leinster a fortnight ago,” he concluded.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel.
Date: Sunday, March 13
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 16.00 (14.00 UK & Ireland team; 14.00 GMT)
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa), Griffin Colby (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
