The Lions are braced for a difficult Currie Cup semifinal when they face the Toyota Cheetahs in the rematch of the battle of the big Cats on Saturday in Johannesburg.

The 2015 champions have bolstered their starting XV with the return of the Springboks Quan Horn and Ruan Venter. Ironically both made their Springbok debuts against Portugal in Bloemfontein earlier in the year.

Home-ground advantage

Marius Louw, who hails from Bloemfontein, will start at inside centre alongside Rynhardt Jonker. The former Cheetah Sibabalo Qoma will play against his former team from the bench, while Sanele Nohamba and JC Pretorius are also among the replacements.

As the log leaders, the Lions earned the home-ground advantage and they’re undoubtedly the favourites. However, their coach, Mziwakhe Nkosi, warned it certainly won’t be a walk in the park.

“I think they’ve been strong if I’m being honest with you, and like any team, they’ve probably hit a bit of a dip in form at a crucial stage in the competition, but they’re a quality team,” said Nkosi.

“If you look at Daniel Kasende and Jeandré Rudolph – and Ethan Wentzel who’s come out of the Varsity Cup nicely – then there’s someone like Corné Fourie who was here, so they’re an experienced team who are really good. We expect them to come here and to try to tear the skin off our backs.”

The captain, Jaco Visagie, has had his fair share of battles against the Cheetahs and he knows all too well the defending champions won’t just relinquish their title without a fight.

Corné Fourie. Photo: Morgan Piek

“I’ve played against the Cheetahs a few times, and played them in a final which we lost there in Bloemfontein,” said Visagie.

“Playing against them there in Bloemfontein is a different ball game. So, we are really happy to be at home and hopefully, our fans will come out to support us. But we are looking forward to it.”

Saturday’s semifinal between the Lions and the Cheetahs at Ellis Park kicks off at 14:30.

Lions – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Rynhardt Jonker, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Tapiwa Mafura, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 Morgan Naude

Replacements – 16 Morné Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Beertjie van Vuuren, 19 Raynard Roets, 20 JC Pretorius, 21 Sibabalo Qoma, 22 Sanele Nohamba, 23 Kelly Mpeku

Cheetahs – 15 Michael Annies, 14 Cohen Jasper, 13 Munier Hartzenberg, 12 Evardi Boshoff, 11 Daniel Kasende, 10 Ethan Wentzel, 9 Jandré Nel, Jeandré Rudolph, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Corné Fourie, 1 Schalk Ferreira

Replacements – 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Hencus van Wyk, 18 Laurence Victor, 19 Friedle Olivier, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Marco Jansen van Vuren, 22 George Lourens, 23 Litha Nkula

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg