Exciting young flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse is back in the No 10 jersey for the Lions’ United Rugby Championship match against Glasgow Warriors at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Hendrikse, who has played off the bench in recent weeks, including in the narrow defeat against Ulster last weekend, replaces Gianni Lombard in the team.
The other change to the starting team is at hooker where PJ Botha returns after sitting on the bench last weekend.
Home win
Reflecting on last weekend’s clash against Ulster — the Lions’ first match at home in three weeks following their tour of Europe where they won three matches in a row — assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher praised the team for finishing strongly in what was a tightly contested affair on their home ground.
“We spoke quite a bit about composure and just having patience. It boils down to how we start the game, but in saying that, the boys did a great job in the last 20 minutes in taking the game to the opposition,” said Loubscher.
The Lions will look to make a good start this weekend in order to gain momentum early in the match therefore creating a solid platform to work from.
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“The big thing for us is to start well. Whether it’s the first or second half just to ensure that we build scoreboard pressure and continue that same pressure for the majority of the 80.
“Looking ahead at Glasgow Warriors, we know what they are capable of despite a tough outing against the Sharks last week. We’ve prepared well this week and look forward to Saturday.”
The Lions will be out to record their first home win, having now lost to the Bulls, in their opening match just over a month ago, and Ulster last weekend.
Kick-off is at 4.05pm.
Lions
Andries Coetzee, Edwill van der Merwe, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Quan Horn, Jordan Hendrikse, Sanele Nohamba, Francke Horn, Ruan Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka, Reinhard Nothnagel (capt), Willem Alberts, Ruan Dreyer, PJ Botha, JP Smith. Bench: Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole, Ruan Smith, Pieter Jansen van Vuren, Sibusiso Sangweni, Morne van den Berg, Gianni Lombard, Zander du Plessis
