Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The Cheetahs will travel to Ellis Park in Johannesburg with a 'full house' of derby victories in mind when they take on the Lions in their final Super Rugby match of the season on Saturday afternoon.
The men from Bloemfontein need the Lions’ scalp to complete this clean sweep after already beating the Bulls, Stormers and Cell C Sharks in 2014, although they have also lost to every other local team thus far this season.
It won’t be a walk in the park though, as the Lions are also looking to improve on a couple of "best ofs" on Saturday.
They have already improved on their previous best season when they won their sixth match of 2014 against the Rebels last year, while the Lions have also won three derbies this year, which is also their best ever.
This includes first-ever wins over the Bulls and Stormers, while they were too strong for the Cheetahs in the opening round in February.
Adriaan Strauss, the Cheetahs’ captain, knows his team will face a tough opponent on Saturday at Ellis Park, where they have a 50% win record.
"We had the opportunity to beat all the other South African teams once except for the Lions," said Strauss.
"Hopefully we can end off on a high, but it won’t be easy, especially if you look at their last performance.
"They play with a lot of passion and pride and it will be tough going up there to win, but we will be up for the game and we still have a lot to play for."
Lions replacement flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff needs 11 points to surpass 200 competition points in his debut Super Rugby season.
He is the only South African player who can reach this mark this year.
Teams:
Lions:
15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Lionel Mapoe, 13. Stokkies Hanekom, 12. Alwyn Hollenbach, 11. Anthony Volmink, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Ross Cronjé, 8. Warren Whiteley, 7. Warwick Tecklenburg, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Franco Mostert, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Schalk van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Corné Fourie, 18. Ruan Dreyer, 19. Willie Britz, 20. Derick Minnie, 21. Faf de Klerk, 22. Marnitz Boshoff, 23. Courtnall Skosan
Cheetahs:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Ryno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Caylib Oosthuizen, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Jean Cook, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 Hennie Daniller
The men from Bloemfontein need the Lions’ scalp to complete this clean sweep after already beating the Bulls, Stormers and Cell C Sharks in 2014, although they have also lost to every other local team thus far this season.
It won’t be a walk in the park though, as the Lions are also looking to improve on a couple of "best ofs" on Saturday.
They have already improved on their previous best season when they won their sixth match of 2014 against the Rebels last year, while the Lions have also won three derbies this year, which is also their best ever.
This includes first-ever wins over the Bulls and Stormers, while they were too strong for the Cheetahs in the opening round in February.
Adriaan Strauss, the Cheetahs’ captain, knows his team will face a tough opponent on Saturday at Ellis Park, where they have a 50% win record.
"We had the opportunity to beat all the other South African teams once except for the Lions," said Strauss.
"Hopefully we can end off on a high, but it won’t be easy, especially if you look at their last performance.
"They play with a lot of passion and pride and it will be tough going up there to win, but we will be up for the game and we still have a lot to play for."
Lions replacement flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff needs 11 points to surpass 200 competition points in his debut Super Rugby season.
He is the only South African player who can reach this mark this year.
Teams:
Lions:
15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Lionel Mapoe, 13. Stokkies Hanekom, 12. Alwyn Hollenbach, 11. Anthony Volmink, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Ross Cronjé, 8. Warren Whiteley, 7. Warwick Tecklenburg, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 4. Franco Mostert, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Schalk van der Merwe
Substitutes: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Corné Fourie, 18. Ruan Dreyer, 19. Willie Britz, 20. Derick Minnie, 21. Faf de Klerk, 22. Marnitz Boshoff, 23. Courtnall Skosan
Cheetahs:
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Johann Sadie, 12 Ryno Benjamin, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane
Substitutes: 16 Caylib Oosthuizen, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Jean Cook, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 Hennie Daniller
