The Waratahs won’t back down from the challenge presented by the Lions’ pack in their Super Rugby semifinal at Ellis Park on Saturday at 3.05pm.
According to lock Jed Holloway, the visiting Australians will target the strength of the South Africans.
So far this season, the Lions have scored 43 of their 81 tries from lineouts and average a success rate of 90.9 percent at the set piece.
On top of this, Springbok lock Franco Mostert has reigned supreme in this facet of play, with the Lions’ workhorse ranked first in the competition for lineouts won with 71.
Maar daai pla nie dieAussies nie, with Holloway saying: “They [the Lions] have a quality pack, but we consider our pack quite fast and mobile.
“They have their strengths, but we have ours in different ways.
“I don’t think we’ll be avoiding lineouts.
“Even though they’re the top in the numbers, we’ve got the second-best defensive lineout in the competition, which is something we’ve been working really hard at and we’re very proud of.”
The Lions’ pack is a bit weakened heading into this encounter, with Cyle Brink unavailable through injury.
His No.7 jumper will be worn by Lourens Erasmus tomorrow in the only change to the side that beat the Jaguares 40-23 in the quarters last weekend.
The Waratahs, meanwhile, have made one change to their side, with Tolu Latu replacing Damien Fitzpatrick at hooker.
Coach Daryl Gibson explains the change as follows: “This match will be a very physical encounter, particularly with the breakdown and scrum being key battlegrounds.
“These are areas where Tolu excels. We are expecting a real set piece battle so we need to be good in this area to compete with the Lions.”
Lions:
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Louren Erasmus, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen. Replacements: 16 Corne Fourie, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Hacjivah Dayimani, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Courtnall Skosan, 23 Howard Mnisi.
Waratahs:
15 Israel Folau, 14 Alex Newsome, 13 Curtis Rona, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Bernard Foley (captain), 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Michael Wells, 7 Will Miller, 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements:
16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Tom Staniforth, 20 Brad Wilkin, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Cam Clark.
Lions v Waratahs
Super Rugby semifinal
Saturday at Ellis Park, 3.05pm