Lions without Jantjies and Kriel as Covid hits hard ahead of Cheetahs visit

The Lions have a new captain in centre Dan Kriel as both seasoned campaigners Elton Jantjies, the regular captain, and Jaco Kriel, have been ruled out of the Super Rugby Unlocked match against the Cheetahs at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Jantjies apparently has a grade one calf injury, which was sustained during training on Tuesday afternoon. In his place in the No 10 jersey will be exciting Gianni Lombard, with Kriel outside him taking charge of the team.

The Lions have been rocked by an outbreak of Covid-19 this week, with no less that nine players ruled out of contention for this weekend’s match.

There is also a change in the centres where Wandisile Simelane comes in for his first start in the competition, in place of Burger Odendaal, who has been one of his team’s standout players so far.

Amongst the forwards MJ Pelser gets the nod at six, in place of Kriel, in the only change to the pack.

ALSO READ: No panic in Lions team; rather an opportunity for Lombard, Simelane to shine.

There are several new faces who’ll warm the bench, including PJ Botha, Jannie du Plessis, Nathan McBeth, Marnus Schoeman, Stean Pienaar and Tiaan Swanepoel.

The Lions go into the game with a nil-from-two record having lost to the Sharks and Stormers, while the Cheetahs are top of the log with two wins.

Lions:

EW Viljoen; Jamba Ulengo, Wandisile Simelane, Dan Kriel (captain), Rabz Maxwane; Gianni Lombard, Morné van den Berg; Len Massyn, Vincent Tshituka, MJ Pelser, Marvin Orie, Ruben Schoeman, Carlu Sadie, Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole. Replacements: PJ Botha, Nathan McBeth, Jannie du Plessis, Wilhelm van der Sluys, Marnus Schoeman, Ross Cronje, Stean Pienaar, Tiaan Swanepoel

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