No Ruan Venter, JC Pretorius as Lions field new-look loose trio to swim with the Sharks

The Lions have been rocked by the injury-enforced absence of key loose forwards Ruan Venter and JC Pretorius for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship clash against the Sharks in Durban (2pm start).

The influential flanks started in last week’s 38-14 triumph over the Durbanites at Ellis Park, but sustained knocks during the match and were doubtful for the return SA derby at Kings Park this weekend.

On Friday, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen announced his team, and both Springbok No 7 Venter and former Blitzboks star Pretorius were on a lengthy injury list that also includes star backs Quan Horn and Henco van Wyk.

The absence of Venter and Pretorius are significant blows for the Lions, as they crucial in getting the team over the advantage line and adding real impetus with ball---in-hand.

Venter is also an excellent lineout option and defender, while Pretorius’ renowned breakdown scavenging skills will be missed too.

But Van Rooyen will hope that the workmanlike Jarod Cairns can fill the gap left by Pretorius at openside flank adequately, as he will be embroiled in a titanic battle for the loose ball with Sharks No 6 Phepsi Buthelezi, who is a Bok himself.

The Lions have brought Siba Qoma up from the bench into Venter’s spot at No 7, and while he is still a youngster, he is also a powerful unit who can make dents in the opposition defence with his carries.

Talking about the bench, Van Rooyen has introduced a whole new reserve front row in the shape of Franco Marais, Morgan Naudé and Conraad van Vuuren to provide a boost in the second half, while Izan Esterhuizen and WJ Steenkamp are the new loose-forward back-ups.

Lions hooker Marais is a former Sharks front-rower, and he is hoping to make it a memorable occasion on his return to Durban.

“It’s been about seven years since I played there, and I’ve got a lot of good memories there – hopefully I can make some more good memories on Saturday,” Marais said this week.

“I must say, when I played at the Sharks, the Lions were always our biggest South African rivalry – in the Johan Ackermann era, they were always a tough team to play, home or away. I’m sure it will be a big game.

“I don’t think I can give any insights, to be honest, because it’s been seven years away.

“There have been a few different coaches since then, so I’m sure it’s changed a bit.

“But with the humidity and wet ball there, it’s probably more slippery than a rainy wet ball. It sounds weird, but a humid wet ball, with sweat constantly on jerseys and stuff, is quite slippery.

“So, hopefully we can get our basics right and play some good rugby on Saturday.”

But while the Lions will be keen to repeat their dominant performance from last week, Marais pointed out that they can’t just expect to run out at Kings Park and expect things to happen for them again.

“In very few games do you get everything going right. Everything just worked for us, every domino fell in the right place,” the 32-year-old said.

“So, from start, set-piece, right through to 50-50 calls, bounce of the ball, everything went our way, and it was great.

“As a tight forward, I would like to say this, but it starts with the tight forwards, the tight five – laying the foundation, getting dominance in carries and tackles, and set-piece as well.

“The tight-five laid a good foundation for the team to go forward.

“It helped a lot with confidence, but every rugby player knows that every week is a new week, and you are only as good as your last game.

“You can’t rock up on Saturday and not perform because you had one good performance.

“It gives you confidence to know at what level you can perform, and what level the group can perform – which is excellent for confidence.

“But you still have to go back on Monday and start from square one. Get confidence through preparation in the week, and then try to deliver on the Saturday.”

Lions Team

15 Tapiwa Mafura 14 Richard Kriel 13 Manuel Rass 12 Marius Louw 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Gianni Lombard 9 Morné van den Berg 8 Francke Horn (captain) 7 Siba Qoma 6 Jarod Cairns 5 Darrien Landsberg 4 Ruben Schoeman 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 PJ Botha 1 Juan Schoeman.

Bench: 16 Franco Marais 17 Morgan Naudé 18 Conraad van Vuuren 19 Ruan Delport 20 Izan Esterhuizen 21 Nico Steyn 22 WJ Steenkamp 23 Rynhardt Jonker.

Sharks Team

15 Henry Immelman 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Jurenzo Julius 12 Francois Venter 11 Ethan Hooker 10 Jordan Hendrikse 9 Grant Williams 8 Siya Kolisi (captain) 7 Jeandré Labuschagne 6 Phepsi Buthelezi 5 Emile van Heerden 4 Jason 3 Vincent Koch 2 Bongi Mbonambi 1 Ox Nche.

Bench: 16 Fez Mbatha 17 Nthuthuko Mchunu 18 Hanro Jacobs 19 Corné Rahl 20 James Venter 21 Nick Hatton 22 Jaden Hendrikse 23 Hakeen Kunene.