Johannesburg — There was an array of undoubted talent displayed by the Sigma Lions this past weekend when they lost to the Western Province; and on Wednesday afternoon they will continue to show off their young talent in Round 2 of the Currie Cup.
The Lions were largely praised for their efforts this past Saturday in a 48-36 loss to the WP in Cape Town, many pundits and supporters making note of an exuberant and youthful matchday squad that possess a vast array of skills but lack experience at senior professional rugby.
On Wednesday, this young group of cubs will have the opportunity to claim an important first victory against the Pumas (kick-off 3.30pm) at Emirates Airline Park, but it will be with a matchday 23 that will have undergone nine changes.
Seven of those are in the starting XV alone and sees the Morne Brandon inserted at hooker in place of Dameon Venter; Lunga Ncube starting in the second row ahead of Simon Dinisio; while Sibusiso Sangweni and Jarod Cairns join Mark Snyman in a new look loose-trio.
In the backline, Ginter Smuts replaces Jurich Claasens at scrumhalf, while the mid-field pairing of Aidynn Cupido and James Mollentze has been replaced by Tyler Bocks and Manuel Rass. Meanwhile, MJ Pelser and James Tedder will make their tournament debut off the bench.
Happy birthday, Heiko!#LionsPride pic.twitter.com/4ftAHZzpWN
— Emirates Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) January 16, 2022
The Pumas were something of a bogey team for the Joburg-based team during the last Currie Cup, beating the Lions on both occasions they played. They crushed a visiting Lions team 39-10 in the opening round, and several weeks later claimed a pulsating 36-33 victory in Johannesburg.
Sigma Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Tyler Bocks, 11 Zeilinga Strydom, 10 Vaughen Isaacs, 9 Ginter Smuts 8, Jarod Cairns 7, Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Mark Snyman, 5 Lunga Ncube, 4 PJ Steenkamp, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Banele Mthenjane;
Replacements: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 Sibusiso Shongwe, 19 Ruan Venter, 20 MJ Pelser, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 James Tedder, 23 James Mollentze
IOL Sport