THE Emirates Lions rugby team will be the first Super Rugby team to play in Japan when the team kicks off their 2016 Super Rugby campaign.
They will face a stern Sun Wolves on Saturday, February 27, at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium. The match will start at 06:10 (South African time).
Round one of the Super Rugby commences on Friday, February 26, with the Blues taking on the Highlanders, after which the Brumbies will play the Hurricanes. On the same day in South Africa the Cheetahs will play against the Jaguars in Bloemfontein at 19:10.
The Emirates Lions have played a few warm-up matches against teams including the Valke, Leopards and Vodacom Bulls. Joburg’s pride will also take on the Jaguars on Friday, February 19, at the Wits University grounds.
Head coach Johann Ackerman has selected a strong and feasible squad to play in the new 18 team-format Vodacom Super Rugby competition.
All the players who represented the Lions in the 2015 Currie Cup have made their way to the Super Rugby ranks. Kwagga Smith, who is contracted for national sevens duty, has been retained while nine other stalwarts have strengthened the squad.
The two players from Alberton who made the squad, Cyle Brink and Derick Minnie, are both flankers. Minnie returns after a long injury lay-off and winger Ruan Combrink and centre Harold Vorster have also been added to the group after missing some Currie Cup action due to injury.
Brink has flourished in the junior ranks at the Golden Lions and in 2014 was included in the South African u.20 squad for the 2014 International Rugby Board (IRB) Junior World Championship in New Zealand.
Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies, centre Lionel Mapoe and hooker Akker van der Merwe, with Warwick Tecklenburg, returns from overseas duty.
The new squad members are former Pumas scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, Leopards number nine Dillon Smit, Leopards lock Robert Kruger and Pumas prop Corné Fourie, who are all full-blooded Lions now.
Pumas fullback JW Bell is the only new face who hasn’t donned the Lions jersey yet.
The squad:
Andries Coetzee, JW Bell, Ruan Combrinck, Lloyd Greeff, Courtnall Skosan, Sampie Mastriet, Anthony Volmink, Koch Marx, Selom Gavor, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Stokkies Hanekom, Howard Mnisi, Harold Vorster, Lionel Mapoe, Jacques Nel, Gerdus van der Walt, Marnitz Boshoff, Jako van der Walt, Elton Jantjies, Ashlon Davids, Ross Cronjé, Faf de Klerk, Ricky Schroeder, Dillon Smit, Marco van Vuren, Warren Whiteley, Fabian Booysen, Ruaan Lerm, Jano Venter, Steph de Wit, Jaco Kriel, Derick Minnie, Warwick Tecklenburg, Ruan Ackermann, Cyle Brink, Victor Sekekete, Robert Kruger, Lourens Erasmus, MB Lusaseni, Franco Mostert, Martin Muller, JP du Preez, Andries Ferreira, Bobby de Wee, Robbie Coetzee, Malcolm Marx, Akker van der Merwe, Ramone Samuels, Jacques van Rooyen, Dylan Smith, Corné Fourie, Julian Redelinghuys, Ruan Dreyer, Justin Ackerman and Pieter Scholtz.
