Pumas make one change for clash against Lions
Steval Pumas coach, Brent Janse van Rensburg has kept faith with his players who defeated the Vodacom Blue Bulls last weekend.
He made only one change to the match 22 that will face the Xerox Golden Lions at KaNyamanzane Stadium on Saturday.
Former Boland Cavaliers captain, Ryan Nell will replace Deon Helberg on the bench.
“Ryan had a niggle during the pre-warm up matches and we want to give him an opportunity against the Lions. We want to keep the continuity in the team. I am happy with the team’s effort last weekend and as a result of that, there aren’t too many changes. The players need to remain hungry,” said Janse van Rensburg.
Also read: Pumas’ late surge sinks Blue Bulls
“Our approach this weekend will be to create opportunities for ourselves and to make sure that we don’t put ourselves under pressure.”
Frank Herne (hooker), De-Jay Terblanche (prop) and Brian Shabangu (flanker) will once again come off the bench.
“It was part of the strategy to use them as impact players. They brought a lot of energy to the game. By the end of the competition, we need to know what we have in each player and what they can contribute.”
Janse van Rensburg said that he is happy with Sias Ebersohn starting at full back.
“Kobus (Marais) has done well at fly half. He is a youngster with a lot of ability and he brings a certain element to the game that we need. Sias is experienced and he controls the game well from behind. He is comfortable there.”
The Pumas played the Lions in a one of three pre-season matches at the end of March, narrowly losing 19-16.
“We played very strong sides (Western Province and the Sharks). I am not looking back, I am looking forward. Obviously we hoped for more improvement, but we know that this is going to be a process. There is still a lot of work to be done.”
“The more the team train together, the more they will learn and the better we will be. We had a lot of guys off their feet due to injuries and we have been playing catch-up to get the guys fit. Time is what you need. The players will grow and get more rhythm to execute all aspects of the game, said Janse van Rensburg.
The last time the two sides played at KaNyamazane was in June 2016 in a Currie Cup Qualification match which saw the Pumas winning 35-24.
Also read: Pumas beat Lions in Steyl at KaNyamazane
Pumas to play the Lions
15. Sias Ebersohn
14. Ruwellyn Isbell
13. Hennie Skorbinski
12. Leighton van Wyk
11. JP Lewis
10. Kobus Marais
9. Reynier van Rooyen
8. Carel Greeff
7. Willie Engelbrecht
6. Reuben Johannes
5. Hugo Kloppers
4. Tazz Fuzani
3. Marné Coetzee
2. Marko Janse van Rensburg
1. Jacques Kotze
Replacements:
16. Frank Herne,
17. De-Jay Terblanche,
18. Stephan Greeff,
19. Brian Shabangu,
20. Emile Temperman,
21. Ryan Nell and
22. Devon Williams.
