Gianni Lombard, seen here with captain Marius Louw, will make a rare Lions appearance at No 10 this weekend. Picture: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
It’s the penultimate round of action in this season’s United Rugby Championship, with only the Sharks of the four South African teams not in the mix to reach the playoffs at the end of the regular season.
The Bulls, Lions and Stormers are all in with a shout of making the top eight.
Here is all the team news and the line-ups for Saturday’s action:
Flyhalf Johan Goosen is back in the Bulls team after serving a suspension for dangerous play, for his team’s match against Italian side, Benetton, at Loftus Versfeld.
The rest of the side that featured against Glasgow last week remains intact. The Bulls, who are fourth on the points table, can go top of the pile if other results go their way this weekend.
A defeat though, while not ideal, would not be a train smash because they are currently six points ahead of the Stormers, in fifth place, on the points table.
Bulls: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Cameron Hanekom, Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje (capt), Ruan Vermaak, Wilco Louw, Akker van der Merwe, Gerhard Steenekamp. Bench: Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Reinhardt Ludwig, Nizaam Carr, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Sebastian de Klerk
The Joburg side (10th on the points table) need a win against the table-toppers to keep alive their slim hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
They’re coming off a good win against Cardiff last weekend, while Franco Smith’s Warriors pushed the Bulls all the way at Loftus, but came up just short.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has made a few changes to his team to keep them fresh; bringing in Gianni Lombard ay No 10 and Rabz Maxwane on the wing for the match, while Emmanuel Tshituka and Morgan Naude also get the nod up-front for the crucial match.
Lions: Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Erich Cronje, Marius Louw (capt), Edwill van der Merwe, Gianni Lombard, Morne van den Berg, Francke Horn, Emmanuel Tshituka, JC Pretorius, Ruan Delport, Willem Alberts, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, PJ Botha, Morgan Naude. Bench: Jaco Visagie, JP Smith, Ruan Dreyer, Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruan Venter, Hanru Sirgel, Sanele Nohamba, Jordan Hendrikse
The fifth-placed Stormers need to keep on winning to qualify in the top eight and to feature in the quarter-finals as several teams behind them are hot on their heels.
They beat the Dragons in Wales last week and now face an Irish side who are also playing for their lives, hoping to reach the top eight with two regular season matches remaining.
Damian Willemse, Hacjivah Dayimani and Brok Harris come into the side this week for the match in Galway, while there are also changes on the bench.
Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse, Angelo Davids, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Hacjivah Dayimani, Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos, Ruben van Heerden, Salmaan Moerat (capt), Frans Malherbe, Joseph Dweba, Brok Harris. Bench: Andre-Hugo Venter, Kwenzo Blose, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Marcel Theunissen, Stefan Ungerer, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
With the Durban-based team preparing for next Friday’s Challenge Cup final against Gloucester in London, coach John Plumtree has picked a second-string side for the match against the Welsh team.
The only Springboks in the starting team are Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Aphiwe Dyantyi, as all the other World Cup winners are rested.
The Sharks go into the match on the back of a defeat by Benetton, while Cardiff lost to the Lions last weekend.
Sharks: Boeta Chamberlain, Yaw Penxe, Diego Appollis, Eduan Keyter, Aphiwe Dyantyi, Lionel Cronje, Tiaan Fourie, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Simon Miller, Tino Mavesere, Reniel Hugo (capt), Corne Rahl, Khwezi Mona, Dylan Richardson, Dian Bleuler. Bench: Dan Jooste, Braam Reyneke, Ig Prinsloo, Thomas Dyer, Nick Hatton, Bradley Davids, Curwin Bosch, Anthony Volmink
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