Johannesburg - The Tshituka brothers have been handed the responsibility of mobilising the Sigma Lions when they take on the Sharks this weekend in a hotly anticipated Currie Cup clash at Emirates Airline Park.
Both siblings – Vincent and younger brother Emmanuel – participated in the recent United Rugby Championship loss to the Stormers, and it now seems that the Lions think-tank has decided to afford them more game-time by selecting them amongst the loose-trio in the starting XV.
Vincent, in particular, has only recently returned to action after injury and getting the 23-year-old back up to speed and into form, will be important for the greater Lions strategy in the near future.
"We've had four weeks to reflect and work on quite a few aspects of our game which we felt needed attention," said head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi in a statement released by the union on Thursday morning. "As management, we believe the hard work the guys put in over the past four weeks will reap rewards as we resume our campaign."
The Lions are winless in the tournament so far, having lost their first two matches against the Western Province and Pumas; and sit bottom of the standings with one point. The top of the table Bulls, meanwhile, have collected 10 points from their three matches. Thus far, the Lions have shipped 98 points in the Currie Cup, while scoring 45.
The match against the Sharks on Saturday kicks off at 5pm. There are two other matches this weekend: On Friday at 7pm Griquas host the WP and on Saturday the Pumas welcome the Cheetahs to Nelspruit for a 2.30pm kick-off.
Sigma Lions Starting XV: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 James Mollentze, 12 Matt More, 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Vaughen Isaacs, 9 Jurich Claasens, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Simon Dinisio, 4 PJ Steenkamp, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (capt), 2 Dameon Venter, 1 JP Smith;
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Banele Mthenjane, 18 Chergin Fillies, 19 Lunga Ncube, 20 MJ Pelser, 21 Ginter Smuts, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Tyler Bocks
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