Six SA teams in action in round five of Super Rugby
Springboks Jan Serfontein and Warren Whiteley will both achieve special milestones in Super Rugby this weekend and two local derbies will spice up the weekend for rugby fans.
Two local derbies will spice up Round Five of the Super Rugby tournament this weekend, which will also see matches abroad for the Stormers and Bulls.
The Southern Kings host the Lions in the first of the local derbies in Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, while the Cheetahs take on the Sharks in Bloemfontein to complete a full weekend of rugby for all six South African franchises. Earlier on Saturday, the Bulls take on the Blues in Albany and the Stormers face the Sunwolves in Singapore.
The Cheetahs welcome back regular skipper Francois Venter and the young Springbok midfielder will also lead his side in their big Super Rugby derby against the Sharks, with both sides determined to improve on their performances of last weekend.
Venter returns to the side for the first time this year, having been side-lined with an ankle injury, and the home team also welcome back fit-again wings Sergeal Petersen and Raymond Rhule.
The Jaguares defeated the depleted Cheetahs last week in Buenos Aires and the Bloem side will be determined to rectify matters, while the Durban side just managed to edge the Southern Kings in their fourth round encounter.
Meanwhile, the coastal side bolstered their ranks with the return of a number of Springboks who were rested last weekend against the Kings. Prop Beast Mtawarira returns to the starting line-up along with fellow Springbok Coenie Oosthuizen in a reshuffled front row while wing Lwazi Mvovo is also back.
Springbok centre Jan Serfontein will make his 50th appearance for the Bulls when the Pretoria side tackles the Blues on Saturday morning in their fifth round match in North Harbour, which starts at 08:35 (SA time).
His milestone comes a week after Serfontein had made an immediate impact last weekend in his return to action following his lengthy injury lay-off, when he scored twice against the Sunwolves at Loftus. He moves to inside centre and partners Jesse Kriel in a revamped midfield combination.
In one of several changes to their starting line-up, former Springbok skipper Adriaan Strauss makes his first start of the season in the light blue jersey and the hooker also resumes the captaincy.
Springbok Sevens star and current World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year, Seabelo Senatla, earns his first start of the campaign on the left wing for the Stormers in their midday battle with the Sunwolves in Singapore. Starting time is set for 12h55 (SA time).
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck has made several changes to the Cape side, which also includes the return of Springbok flank and regular captain, Siya Kolisi, after he was rested for their last outing two weeks ago against the Kings.
Lanky No 8 Warren Whiteley will captain the Lions for the 50th time when they face the Southern Kings at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
Whiteley will be playing in his 71st match overall for the Joburg franchise and is their most experienced captain during the last decade, with Cobus “Baywatch” Grobbelaar (28 captaincy appearances) and Josh Strauss (17) next on the list. Johan Ackermann made one change from the side team that thumped the Reds 44-14 last weekend, with Harold Vorster replacing Lionel Mapoe in midfield.
Lionel Cronje, who has been vice-captain of the side from the start of the campaign, will take charge as captain of the Kings in the absence of injured skipper, Schalk Ferreira. The injury to Ferreira gives Schalk van der Merwe a starting opportunity, while coach David Davids also called on hooker Kurt Haupt to start this week ahead of Michael Willemse. Malcolm Jaer makes a return to the team, this week starting at fullback as Masixole Banda is given a break this weekend.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord onFacebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
