Lions boss: It’s time for Ross Cronje to get a chance in the No 9 jersey

Lions coach Cash van Rooyen sprung a surprise on Thursday when he dropped scrumhalf Morne van den Berg from the match day squad to face the Pumas in their final Super Rugby Unlocked game at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Van Rooyen, not known to be one who tampers too significantly with his side unless for rotational reasons, made some significant changes, five of which are to the run-on side, with veteran Ross Cronje getting a start in the No 9 jersey in place of Van den Berg.

Many may view this game as a dead rubber in terms of title aspirations, with both the Lions and Pumas out of contention, but Van Rooyen was quick to stress that there are still valuable log points up for grabs.

Points accumulated during the course of the current Super Rugby Unlocked series are carried over to the new-look Currie Cup, which gets underway at the end of the month.

“The Pumas have shown how competitive they are and we also had a tough pre-season match against them,” said Van Rooyen.

While the return of lock Willem Alberts, prop Wiehahn Herbst and flank Hacjivah Dayimani will be a big boost, Van Rooyen explained that Van den Berg’s heavy workload in the last few weeks had been a consideration when leaving him out of the line-up.

“Morne, or Krappie, has had an unbelievable five week spell and it’s time for Ross and Andre (Warner) to get an opportunity,” said Van Rooyen.

In another move that may have had fans a touch puzzled, prop Sti Sithole moves down to the substitutes bench, having formed part of a powerful front row that more than held their own against the Bulls last weekend.

“Some changes were required and others were simply rotational. Sti has been playing really well but it was time to give Ruan (Dreyer) a go, and we are excited about that,” added the head coach.

“Jan-Henning (Campher, hooker) is also getting his opportunity off the bench, while Hacjivah is back, so we are looking forward what he can bring for us.”

With fullback Gianni Lombard ruled out for nine months due to torn knee ligaments, the Lions were still nevertheless spoiled for choice, with Tiaan Swanepoel, Divan Rossouw and EW Viljoen, all available.

“EW joined training this week along with a host of others. We just felt Tiaan had been training really well along with Divan, so instead of rushing EW back into the side, we will continue to back our system,” he said.

The Lions will take the field tomorrow with a new lock combination after Springbok lock Marvin Orie was moved down to the bench, with Alberts and Reinhard Nothnagel paired up as the locks.

Orie’s lock partner last week, Ruben Schoeman, has been given a rest after he picked up some knocks and bruises last weekend.

Lions: Tiaan Swanepoel; Stean Pienaar, Wandisile Simelane, Burger Odendaal, Courtnall Skosan; Elton Jantjies (capt), Ross Cronjé; Len Massyn, Vincent Tshituka, MJ Pelser, Reinhard Nothnagel, Willem Alberts, Carlu Sadie, Jaco Visagie, Ruan Dreyer. Bench: Jan-Henning Campher, Sti Sithole, Wiehahn Herbst, Marvin Orie, Hacjivah Dayimani, André Warner, Dan Kriel, Divan Rossouw.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.