Sanele Nohamba is set for his first start for the Lions alongside a host of Vodacom United Rugby Championship performers in Saturday’s Currie Cup tussle against Western Province at Ellis Park.
The nuggety scrumhalf will make his second appearance for the Joburgers since joining from the Sharks in April. With Jordan Hendrikse on SA Sevens duty in London, Tiaan Swanepoel takes over at No 10, with James Tedder providing cover on the bench.
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen – relieving Mziwakhe Nkosi of his regular duties – has essentially named the side which beat the Dragons on Saturday to close their URC campaign on a high. However, the Sharks-bound Vincent Tshituka is a notable absentee, despite scooping his fourth man-of-the-match accolade last week.
It’s a bottom-of-the-table clash on Saturday, the winless Lions languishing on five points after 10 games while WP are just above with 13 points, but Van Rooyen is hoping his side’s form in the URC can pay off in the Currie Cup.
“We’ve kept a fairly consistent approach for Saturday’s clash against Western Province,” said Van Rooyen. “Finishing strong as a franchise has been our theme over the past two weeks.
“Last Saturday’s win, albeit in a different competition, instilled a huge amount of confidence within the group. It’s the kind of momentum we’ll be taking into tomorrow’s game.”
Lions – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Matt More, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (c), 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 JP Smith.
Subs: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 PJ Steenkamp, 20 Jarod Cairns, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 James Tedder.
