No panic in Lions team; rather an opportunity for Lombard, Simelane to shine

There is no panic in the Lions team after being rocked by the news that nine players had withdrawn from the squad because of Covid-19.

Also, they will be without their experienced captain, flyhalf Elton Jantjies, who hasn’t been ruled out due to Covid, but a calf injury, sustained on Tuesday afternoon.

The side, which comes up against the Cheetahs in a Super Rugby Unlocked match at Ellis Park on Saturday, will now be lead by centre Dan Kriel.

“Elton pulled his calf on Tuesday,” stressed Lions boss Cash van Rooyen.

Lions team doctor Rob Collins, however, explained the situation around the Covid cases in the team. “Most of the nine players are just precautionary (withdrawals) and some were withdrawn because their contacts had been exposed to the virus, while I’d also guess some of the tests could be false,” said Collins.

ALSO READ: Lions without Jantjies and Kriel as Covid hits hard ahead of Cheetahs visit.

Noticeable absentees in the Lions team, apart from Jantjies, are flank Jaco Kriel, centre Burger Odendaal, props Dylan Smith and Ruan Dreyer, hooker Jan-Henning Campher, prop Wiehahn Herbst, lock Willem Alberts and flank Hacjivah Dayimani.

At flyhalf, Gianni Lombard comes in for Jantjies, while Wandisile Simlane replaces Odendaal, who was the Lions’ biggest star the previous week against the Stormers.

With Kriel not available for this clash, flank MJ Pelser gets his first start, while flanker Marnus Schoeman makes a return on the bench for the first time this year.

New captain Dan Kriel said the team were in good spirits and in the right frame of mind to get back on the winning track after two narrow losses.

“We were seconds away from two wins, but we also know we need to start finishing off,” said Kriel.

Van Rooyen said the latest setback because of Covid hadn’t impacted the team too badly.

“We had a good week and we’ve prepared well.  There’s a great chance now, too, for some of the guys to get an opportunity, something we would have done in any case in the next two weeks,” said Van Rooyen.

The new faces on the bench are PJ Botha, Jannie du Plessis, Nathan McBeth, Marnus Schoeman, Stean Pienaar and Tiaan Swanepoel.

Lions:

EW Viljoen; Jamba Ulengo, Wandisile Simelane, Dan Kriel (capt), 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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