Super Rugby Round 6 - Defining week for Lions

Johan Ackermann's team will be hunting their seventh win from eight starts on their home turf.    

The Emirates Lions are coming off a bye, while the Crusaders recorded an impressive 19-14 victory over the Cell C Sharks in Durban last Saturday, which ended the KwaZulu-Natalians' unbeaten stint of four games since the beginning of this year's competition. Kick-off is at 19h00.

An added flavour to the big clash in Johannesburg is the looming battle between the two No 8's. Warren Whiteley (Emirates Lions) and Kieran Reid (Crusaders) are not only the key figures in the forward pack of their respective teams, but they are also the captains of the two sides.

The match on the Highveld is the second of their South African tour for the Crusaders, after their hard-fought win last week in Durban. 

History will be made on Saturday when the Southern Kings and the Sunwolves meet each other for the very first time. The historic match in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium starts at 17h05 and it will be the Sunwolves' first match away from home, after they played all of their outings in the Far East.

The Kings showed admirable fighting spirit during a demanding tour of New Zealand where they suffered losses against the Crusaders and the Hurricanes. Coach Deon Davids will be hoping that a return to the impressive Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium will see his side claim their first victory of the season.

Saturday's action will be rounded off by another intriguing battle between the Vodacom Bulls and the Toyota Cheetahs, which kicks off at 19h15 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. The men in blue won the first 11 of their matches against the Free Staters, but lost in their final encounter last year, by 42-29 in Pretoria.

The Vodacom Bulls have made steady progress since their opening round defeat to the DHL Stormers, and they have won two matches and drawn one since that defeat.

The two remaining South African franchises, the Cell C Sharks and the DHL Stormers are both enjoying a bye this weekend. The Hurricanes and the Reds are also sitting out the round six action.

In the other overseas matches, the Highlanders take on the Force on Friday, the Blues are at home against the Jaguares on Saturday while the Brumbies host the Chiefs. On Sunday the Waratahs will be in action on home turf against the Rebels.

Emirates Lions vs Crusaders

Date: Friday, 1 April 2016

SA Time: 19h00

Venue: Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg

Referee: Stuart Berry

Assistant referees: Craig Joubert, AJ Jacobs

Television match official: Johann Greeff

Team News:

Emirates Lions coach Johan Ackermann has bracketed Elton Jantjies, who is recovering from an injured wrist, with Marnitz Boshoff in the No 10 position. 

Similarly, Andries Ferreira and Lourens Erasmus have both been named in the No 4 lock position.

The Emirates Lions are coming off a bye, while the Crusaders recorded an impressive 19-14 victory over the Cell C Sharks in Durban last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Emirates Lions will be without the services of hooker Robbie Coetzee for around four months. He sustained a knee injury earlier in the season and underwent surgery on Wednesday morning to repair damaged cartilage in his knee. 

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder made three changes to his team for the Friday evening visit to Johannesburg. Prop Wyatt Crockett wears the No 1 jersey this week, rotating with Joe Moody who will take a spot on the bench.

Luke Romano and Scott Barrett are the starting locks, while Sam Whitelock is among the reserves. Jimmy Tupou and Jordan Taufua have also rotated, with Tupou starting at No 6 and Taufua now on the bench. The starting backline is unchanged but Sean Wainui joins the reserves.

Stats:

The Crusaders have won their last six matches against the Emirates Lions and they've conceded only 13 points combined in their last two matches against the South African side.

The Emirates Lions have won only two matches against the Crusaders in their nine Vodacom Super Rugby encounters with the last of those wins in Round 3, 2007 (9-3). The other was a 55-23 demolition of Crusaders in their first ever encounter in 1996.

The Lions have won six of their last seven home matches, their only loss in that period coming against the Brumbies in Round 14 last season.

Crusaders wing Nemani Nadolo has made 10 offloads so far this season for the Canterbury-based side, more than any other player in the competition.

Teams:

Emirates Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies/Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira/Lourens Erasmus, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylan Smith. Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruan Ackermann, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg.

Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read (captain), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jimmy Tupou, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Wyatt Crockett. Replacements: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Mike Alaalatoa, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Sean Wainui.

Southern Kings vs Sunwolves

Date: Saturday, 2 April 2016

SA Time: 17h05

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge

Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Rodney Boneparte 

Television match official: Christie du Preez

Team News:

Kings coach Deon David has made two changes to his starting line-up which lost to the Hurricanes in Wellington last weekend.

Siyanda Grey starts at right wing in place of Luzuko Vulindlu, who is sitting out with concussion. 

Former Junior Springbok Aidon Davis replaces Jacques Engelbrecht at No 8.

Stats:

This clash in Port Elizabeth will be the first ever meeting between the two sides and the first away match of the competition for the Sunwolves.

Both of the Kings' home wins (during their debut season in 2013) have come against teams from outside of South Africa, namely the Force and the Highlanders.

Sunwolves flyhalf Tusi Pisi currently tops the kicking accuracy at 94%, the highest of any player who has attempted at least 15 shots at goal so far this season.

Teams:

Southern Kings: 15 Jurgen Visser, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Malcolm Jaer, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 JC Astle, 4 Steven Sykes (captain), 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Sti Sithole. Replacements: 16 Martin Ferreira, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Chris Cloete, 21 Kevin Luiters, 22 Elgar Watts, 23 Jaco van Tonder.

Sunwolves: TBC

Vodacom Bulls vs Toyota Cheetahs

Date: Saturday, 2 April 2016

SA Time: 19h15

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Referee: Craig Joubert

Assistant referees: Shuhei Kubo, AJ Jacobs

Television match official: Willie Vos

Team News:

Vodacom Bulls coach Nollis Marais has moved Jesse Kriel to fullback for their clash at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. Kriel, who started at centre in the win against the Sunwolves last weekend, replaces Junior Springbok Warrick Gelant, who has been ruled out of action due to a broken jaw sustained in the same match.

Marais has selected a revamped back three for the Vodacom Bulls. Joining Kriel at the back is Travis Ismaiel, who returns to the starting team as right wing, with Jamba Ulengo moving to the left in place of the injured Bjorn Basson. 

Springbok Jan Serfontein will return to the midfield to link up with Burger Odendaal and his place on the bench will be taken by SP Marais, who could make his Vodacom Bulls debut if sent on.

Scrumhalf Piet van Zyl has been released to the Currie Cup team for match fitness and Ivan van Zyl will deputise at scrumhalf.

Toyota Cheetahs coach Franco Smith has made only one change to his side for the visit to Pretoria. 

The 22-year-old Nico Lee will make his Vodacom Super Rugby debut at inside centre as replacement for the injured Joubert Engelbrecht, who was ruled out of action after he sustained an upper arm injury last weekend while in action against the Brumbies. 

Stats:

The Vodacom Bulls have won 13 of their last 15 matches against the Toyota Cheetahs, although the men from Bloemfontein will be on the hunt for consecutive wins against their counterparts from Pretoria for the first time in history after a 42-29 win in their last encounter at the end of the 2015 season.

The 16 matches between these sides have seen 56 points scored per game on average.

The Vodacom Bulls have conceded only one of their 11 tries in the first half of games this season, the fewest of any team in the competition while the Toyota Cheetahs have conceded the joint most during that time (12).

Toyota Cheetahs lineout kingpin Francois Uys has won 27 lineouts so far this season, the third most of any player in the competition.

Quotes:

Vodacom Bulls head coach Nollis Marais: "We have to get it right. We are battling to put together 80 minutes of rugby at a time. We have been lucky so far that it did not come back to bite us, but we cannot continue like that if we have title ambitions. We need to sustain our first half effort and the players are very aware of that."

Vodacom Bulls captain Adriaan Strauss: "The Cheetahs will be pumped to come here and beat us. This is one of their big matches of the year and if we cannot repel their enthusiasm and commitment by producing our own 80 minute effort, we will be in trouble. Luckily, the team is very aware of that. We are playing at home and have the expectations of our fans, but also the drive from within the team to deliver a good performance."

Toyota Cheetahs head coach Franco Smith: "We have a lot of ability with ball in hand and our set pieces are looking good compared to last year. My main aim is to compare us to previous Cheetahs teams … so there is progress and from there we can compete with the rest."

Teams:

Vodacom Bulls: 15 Jesse Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Rudy Paige, 8 Arno Botha/Nic de Jager, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Lizo Gqoboka. Substitutes: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Pierre Schoeman, 19 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 20 Lappies Labuschagne, 21 Ivan van Zyl, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 SP Marais

Toyota Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain) , 12 Nico Lee, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Boom Prinsloo, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Lodewyk de Jager, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Maks van Dyk, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Hilton Lobberts, 21 Henco Venter, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga.

Other fixtures (SA kick-off times):

Friday, 1 April

08h35: Highlanders vs Force - Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Saturday, 2 April

08h35: Blues vs Jaguares - QBE Stadium, North Harbour

10h45: Brumbies vs Chiefs - GIO Stadium, Canberra

Sunday, 3 April

08h05: Waratahs vs Rebels - Allianz Stadium, Sydney