Lions pick team that will ‘soften up’ the Reds up front
Lions coach Swys de Bruin has opted for continuity when he named just one change to his starting line-up on Thursday.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg. (Photo by Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images)
Their next Super Rugby clash is against the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday.
In the midfield, centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg has been recalled to the run-on side in the place of Lionel Mapoe who has a slight groin concern and is being rested.
On the bench there have been a few changes with prop Johannes Jonker, flank Cyle Brink and flyhalf Ashlon Davids coming in and possibly having an impact during the match.
“We went for six forwards on the bench, because we had a good look at Reds on video and we felt it will be the type of game where we will have to soften them up at front,” said De Bruin.
“We always have the option to move (flankers) Kwagga (Smith) or Hacjivah (Dayimani) to the back in an emergency,” he said.
“In such a case we still have Malcolm Marx and Marnus Schoeman who can cover loose forward,” he said.
“And we’ve decided to put (flyhalf) Ashlon Davids on the bench who can cover a lot of positions together with scrumhalf Nic Groom,” he said.
The Lions have won all six of their last matches on Aussie soil and De Bruin said the team are in great spirits but definitely not taking the Reds lightly.
“We had a very good defence session today (on Thursday) in Sydney and now it’s just a case of flying up to Brisbane on Friday morning and going and keep our names high there,” said De Bruin.
Lions: Andries Coetzee, Ruan Combrinck, Harold Vorster, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Madosh Tambwe, Elton Jantjies, Dillon Smit, Hacjivah Dayimani, Franco Mostert (capt), Kwagga Smith, Marvin Orie, Andries Ferreira, Ruan Dreyer, Malcolm Marx, Jacques van Rooyen.
Bench: Robbie Coetzee, Dylan Smith, Johannes Jonker, Lourens Erasmus, Cyle Brink, Marnus Schoeman, Nic Groom, Ashlon Davids.
After 10 weeks of Vodacom Super Rugby, the following stats are worth taking note of:
- Elton Jantjies played in his 96th Super Rugby match for the Lions last weekend against the Waratahs and extended his points record for the Lions in SR to 882 (9 tries, 201 conversions, 141 penalties and 4 drop goals).
- After 10 rounds in Super 2018, the Lions are the leading points scorers with 321, including 47 tries (also the most).
