Warren Whiteley will make his long-awaited return to the Golden Lions’ starting lineup for their match against the Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Whiteley starts at No 8, with Jaco Kriel and Steph de Wit on the flanks and Kwagga Smith moving to the bench.

A third change to the starting lineup sees the inclusion of Jacques van Rooyen in the front row, with the backline remaining unchanged.

Golden Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Steph de Wit, 6 Jaco Kriel (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Lourens Erasmus, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Mark Pretorius, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Fabian Booysen, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Jaco van der Walt, 21 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 22 Anthony Volmink.

Photo: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images