Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi is positive that his side can turn their fortunes around in the Currie Cup and upset the Free State Cheetahs on Saturday.

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The Joburgers were trounced 43-31 by the table-topping Sharks in their last outing, leaking five tries to the Durbanites at Ellis Park.

Travelling to Bloemfontein for a date with the second-placed Cheetahs won’t make things any easier for Nkosi’s charges.

“It doesn’t get easier at all visiting the competition favourites, but that’s the nature of the competition. We’re expecting a motivated Cheetahs team who will look to play an expansive game on their home pitch,” he said.

Nkosi has named a strong match-day 23, featuring the explosive midfield combination of Tyler Bocks and James Mollentze. Veteran flyhalf Fred Zeilinga has been tasked with spearheading the attack, while Rabz Maxwane starts at right wing against his former team. 

“We spoke extensively about implementing our plans and, more importantly, retaining our focus for longer periods of the game,” Nkosi added.

“Looking back at our last outing against the Sharks, we felt costly errors let us down and we know a team like the Cheetahs will pounce if given the opportunity. If we can limit those little mistakes, we believe we’ll be in with a real chance of achieving a positive result.”

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Lions – 15 Tiaan Swanepoel, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 James Mollentze, 12 Tyler Bocks, 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Jurich Claasens, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Simon Dinisio, 4 Lunga Ncube, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (c), 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.
Subs: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Banele Mthenjane, 18 Chergin Fillies, 19 Izan Esterhuizen, 20 MJ Pelser, 21 Ginter Smuts, 22 James Tedder, 23 Luke Rossouw.