Lions boss Ivan van Rooyen has made minimal changes to the Lions team for their crunch derby encounter against their provincial rivals at Loftus Versfeld.
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In the only change in the backline, Morne van den Berg replaces Gianni Lombard in the starting lineup for the URC clash. And with Van den Berg slotting in at scrumhalf, Sanele Nohamba shifts one spot wider to flyhalf in Lambard’s absence.
Nohamba scored 24 points to help the Lions beat the Bulls in the previous meeting between the two teams at Loftus.
That is the only change to a backline, with Lombard falling out of the matchday squad entirely to accommodate the return of Jordan Hendrikse on the bench.
Up front, veteran hooker Jaco Visagie takes over from PJ Botha in the middle of the front row, while Hanru Sirgel comes in at openside flank for JC Pretorius, who is named among the replacements.
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LIONS TEAM TO FRONT BULLS IN DERBY SHOWDOWN
Lions — 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Hanru Sirgel, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith.
Subs: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Erich Cronje.
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