Johannesburg - Lions coach Mzwakhe Nkosi has restored star playmaker Sanele Nohamba to scrumhalf from flyhalf and dropped to the bench Morne van den Berg in a surprise selection for the big Currie Cup clash with the Bulls on Saturday in Johannesburg.
Nkosi has done this so that he can accommodate the returning Gianni Lombard at 10 but when you consider how well Nohamba and Van den Berg gelled in last week’s impressive victory over the Cheetahs, you would have thought he would have left the combination alone.
Still, the Lions will have the exceptional Van den Beg up their sleeves for the second half when the game opens up.
The thrilling duo of Tyler Bocks and Manuel Rass will combine in the midfield, while right winger Boldwin Hansen steps in to fill the void left by the injured Rabz Maxwane.
On the bench, PJ Botha provides solid back-up as hooker, supporting the skipper Jaco Visagie.
Lions team:15 Quan Horn, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Tyler Bocks, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Franke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshiyuka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Ruan Venter, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanya, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Rhynardt Runsburger.
Replacements: PJ Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Ruan Smith, Darren Landsberg, Ruhan Straeuli, Morne van den Berg, Andries Coetzee, Rynhardt Jonker.
IOL Sport