Willem Alberts will lead the Lions in a must-win match for the Johannesburg outfit against the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The veteran forward dons the armband for a second successive match after regular skipper Marius Louw was a late withdrawal in a bonus-point win over the Glasgow Warriors in the Vodacom URC two weeks ago.
In the only change to the run-on XV, Sanele Nohamba takes over from Gianni Lombard at flyhalf. Rabz Maxwane retains the No 14 jersey with Richard Kriel still nursing a hamstring injury.
Louw returns this week and is set to feature off the bench in Cape Town, as Jordan Hendrikse partners Erich Cronje in the midfield again.
ALSO: Eben hopes Stormers do Lions a favour
Flanker Ruan Venter is not considered for selection due to suspension with Etienne Oosthuizen and Izan Esterhuizen expected to make an impact off the wood alongside Lombard.
Ivan van Rooyen’s charges are currently in ninth place on the overall standings in the URC and, though they cannot overtake the Stormers (fifth), victory in Cape Town on Saturday will catapult them into the quarter-finals, lifting them above whoever loses when Benetton (eighth) host Edinburgh (seventh).
Lions – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Jordan Hendrikse, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Willem Alberts (c), 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Morgan Naude.
Subs: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Reinhardt Nothnagel, 21 Izan Esterhuizen, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Gianni Lombard.
Photo: Roberto Bregani/Gallo Images
The post Bone Collector takes charge for Lions appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Src: sarugbymag.co.za
