Ken Borland

Lions coach Johan Ackermann has freshened up his team with nine changes to the starting line-up for their Lions Challenge match against the Cheetahs at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Cheetahs are bringing an injury-hit squad featuring fringe players to Johannesburg and Ackermann will also be fielding several new faces for the Lions’ second game of the season, following their 51-13 victory over Russia last weekend.

But centre Alwyn Hollenbach, who has been mentioned for higher honours, has returned from injury and will provide captain JC Janse van Rensburg with experienced support alongside loose forward Derick Minnie.

Swys du Toit has also been introduced at hooker, with Martin Bezuidenhout, the subject of loan speculation in Cape Town, out of the squad. While the Lions did confirm they are in negotiations with the Stormers over lending the front-ranker to them, Ackermann said the Orkney-born 23-year-old would have been rested this weekend anyway.

“We received a call requesting we loan Martin to the Stormers from February to the end of March and we are busy finalising the details. We should know for sure on Monday,” Lions CEO Manie Booysen said on Friday.

Janse van Rensburg said he expected a tough encounter with the Cheetahs.

“There’s always extra competition against the South African teams, it will be like a derby, hard and tough. The Cheetahs are in the same boat as us, their tight five will also be out to prove themselves, so it will be  as tough as always up front,” he said.

Coach Ackermann has brought Du Toit, two new locks – former Northern Free Stater Gavin Annandale and Hugo Kloppers – and flank Jaco Kriel into the pack, while the Cronje twins, Ross and Guy, will direct affairs from halfback.

Amongst the backs, former Blue Bulls flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff is included at fullback and Ackermann confirmed the 24-year-old is being looked at as a challenger to Andries Coetzee in the number 15 jersey.

“Marnitz played a lot of rugby at fullback for the Blue Bulls U20 side and we want to see how he goes at 15, he is challenging Andries Coetzee. Marnitz can cover flyhalf as well, while Ruhan Nel can also play fullback and Lionel Cronje covers inside centre too,” Ackermann said.

Hollenbach at inside centre and Nel on the right wing are the other changes to the backline and Ackermann said Hollenbach, the former SA U19 star, was eager to get back on to the field after a shoulder injury.

“Alwyn is eager to play, I asked him if he was sure he was 100% ready and he said it’s time to get back on the park, he didn’t want to wait another week,” Ackermann said.

Team: Marnitz Boshoff, Ruhan Nel, Stokkies Hanekom, Alwyn Hollenbach, Anthony Volmink, Guy Cronje, Ross Cronje, Willie Britz, Derick Minnie, Jaco Kriel, Hugo Kloppers, Gavin Annandale, Ruan Dreyer, Swys du Toit, JC Janse van Rensburg. Substitutes – Robbie Coetzee, Jacques van Rooyen, JJ Breet, Claude Tshibidi, Michael Bondesio, Lionel Cronje, Andries Coetzee.

The MTN Golden Lions regained first place on the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division log as they put away the Toyota Free State Cheetahs 38-23 (half-time 20-16) in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The Cheetahs weathered an early storm from the Lions to actually lead 16-13 after half-an-hour, but the Lions scored two tries in three minutes either side of half time to give the Gautengers a 27-16 lead and thereafter there was nothing that could rescue the Free Staters from a fourth defeat in six matches.

Flyhalf Elton Jantjies instituted some early control for the Lions as his short kick-off caught the Cheetahs napping, was claimed by flank Willie Britz and led to a penalty which Jantjies kicked, followed by another penalty in the sixth minute.

The one area where the Lions did struggle was at the breakdown and referee Sindile Mayende set the tone with an early call against fetcher Cobus Grobbelaar, allowing Cheetahs wing Nico Scheepers to kick a penalty (3-6).

The Cheetahs had a much bigger problem, however, and that was their insistence on trying to run their surfeit of possession in their own territory and the mistakes that came as they tried to run under pressure was what eventually brought them to their knees.

It was the cause of the Lions’ first try as flyhalf Tewis de Bruyn swung the ball from inside his own 22, but his intentions were beautifully read by Lions lock Franco van der Merwe, who put himself between the pivot and the midfield receivers and claimed an easy intercept try.

De Bruyn will probably claim he did not see Van der Merwe lurking because both teams were playing in predominantly white jerseys, with the Cheetahs changing to orange four minutes later, but the pass should never have been given in the first place.

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The Bulls used their general dominance in the tight phases to set up an emphatic 40-24 (half-time 26-0) victory over the Cheetahs in their all-South African SuperRugby match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The Bulls enjoyed a wonderful attacking platform from their dominant lineout and scrum, and thrilled their home crowd by running in six tries on their way to a 40-0 lead after an hour.

The Cheetahs saved themselves from further humiliation as they grabbed four well-taken tries in the final quarter.

The visitors held the Bulls for the first 18 minutes and even threatened when they managed to maintain possession through several phases, matching their hosts’ physicality in the collisions.

But the Bulls were able to use their dominance in the set-pieces to wear down the Cheetahs and slick finishing saw them score four tries and earn a bonus point before the break, on their way to a convincing triumph.

Far from playing uninteresting, forward-dominated rugby, the Bulls looked full of ideas and their opening try by eighthman Pierre Spies came after wing Akona Ndungane had counter-attacked off a poor kick.

A scintillating break by scrumhalf Francois Hougaard then set up the second try, by outstanding loosehead prop Dean Greyling, although part of the blame must lie with the Cheetahs lineout, who failed to take their own ball cleanly five metres from their tryline.

The Bulls’ third try, after 28 minutes, was a more bland affair, with fullback Zane Kirchner having a simple run-in after the Cheetahs failed to gather a massive up-and-under from flyhalf Morne Steyn.

Another Cheetahs mistake eight minutes later was ruthlessly punished by the Bulls as eighthman Ashley Johnson spilt the ball behind a retreating scrum and Hougaard pounced for an easy try.

A massacre looked in the offing as the Bulls kept up the pressure in the second half and the Cheetahs were reduced to 14 men as centre Andries Strauss was yellow-carded for pulling the hair of flank Jacques Potgieter while he was in a ruck.

Tighthead prop Werner Kruger was the final recipient of the ball and scored the fifth try after a series of forward drives by Greyling, hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle and replacement lock Wilhelm Steenkamp; and wing Bjorn Basson then scored the try of the match as he sped clear from turnover ball 60 metres out, his deceptive footwork and pace beating the Cheetahs’ cover defence.

“Our defence was good in the first half and we squeezed some turnovers. All our tries in the first half came from turnover ball. Looking at the big picture, I’m definitely satisfied with our performance tonight,” Bulls coach Frans Ludeke told a news conference after the game.

“It’s the story of our season so far. We didn’t have any intensity or momentum and the Bulls played off our mistakes. We made too many mistakes in the first half, but we were better in the second half,” Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske said.

But the visitors dominated the final quarter as WP Nel, the replacement tighthead, charged over for two tries, fullback Willie le Roux sprinted over from 55 metres out and flank Heinrich Brussow showed the pace of a wing to score the bonus point try.

The win puts the Bulls in fourth place on the overall standings, eight points behind the first-placed Chiefs, while they are still second in the South African Conference, four points behind the Stormers.

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Pierre Spies, Dean Greyling, Zane Kirchner, Francois Hougaard, Werner Kruger, Bjorn Basson. Conversions: Morne Steyn (5).

Cheetahs – Tries: WP Nel (2), Willie le Roux, Heinrich Brussow. Conversions: Sias Ebersohn (2).

Wing Willie le Roux scored a brilliant second try, which was converted by replacement flyhalf Sias Ebersohn, as the Cheetahs snatched a 35-34 (half-time 21-31) victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in their SuperRugby match at the Free State Stadium on Saturday.

Le Roux’s 57th-minute try, which followed a try by prop WP Nel just three minutes earlier, came after the Cheetahs attacked from the restart, Ebersohn chipping over the defence and Le Roux then gathering and chipping again before reclaiming the ball and dashing over the tryline.

The Waratahs, who led 34-21 in the 48th minute after scoring four tries in the first half, can look back on a disappointing second half and their failure to use two late chances to claim victory. Flyhalf Berrick Barnes was short with an angled 55-metre penalty in the 76th minute and, as regular time came to an end, they had a maul inside the Cheetahs 22 and Barnes lined up for the drop goal. But they could not get the ball out as Cheetahs loose forwards Ashley Johnson and Heinrich Brussow did great work in keeping the ball off the ground.

The Cheetahs can threaten the best of sides with ball in hand, but their defence can be porous and the Waratahs took advantage of 18 missed tackles in the first half and particularly poor defence around the fringes to rush to the four-try bonus point in 33 minutes.

Flank Dave Dennis, who would be a thorn in the Cheetahs’ side all game, scored the first try in the fourth minute when he pounced on a loose ball behind the tryline, and he would be instrumental in the Waratahs’ next try just two minutes later when he burst clear from the kickoff and was only stopped inside the home side’s 22. From the resulting ruck, scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin found lock Sitaleki Timani on the charge and he powered through for the try.

The Cheetahs then drew level at 14-14 with two tries in four minutes. The first came from a wonderfully-worked move off a lineout as lock Izak van der Westhuizen fed Brussow, who linked up with Johnson charging through on the angle. The bushy-haired eighthman then found scrumhalf Piet van Zyl, who dotted down in the tackle.

Le Roux’s brilliant attacking running then started and finished a move in the 19th minute, with flyhalf Riaan Smit’s second successful conversion tying the scores at 14-14.

The Waratahs edged ahead again in the 22nd minute when McKibbin kicked a penalty after the Cheetahs took him out at a ruck, but his satisfaction turned to horror four minutes later when his pass was intercepted by hooker Adriaan Strauss and the Cheetahs captain ran in the try from halfway.

But the Cheetahs’ terrible defence saw them concede two tries in the last seven minutes of the first half.

Wing Drew Mitchell showed great skill to keep a kick in play, after which centre Adam Ashley-Cooper chipped ahead, the bounce was kind and the quick hands of McKibben put outside centre Rob Horne away on a 45-metre run to the tryline.

Timani then scored his second try, after good work by fullback Bernard Foley down the left touchline and eighthman Wycliff Palu at the kickoff, leaving the Cheetahs in need of a major turnaround.

Nel went low and hard to score for the Free Staters in the 54th minute, before Le Roux floored the Waratahs with another moment of brilliance three minutes later.

His moment of inspiration gave the Cheetahs their fifth win this season, the most they have achieved in a SuperRugby campaign.

Scorers

Cheetahs – Tries: Piet van Zyl, Willie le Roux (2), Adriaan Strauss, WP Nel. Conversions: Riaan Smit (4), S. Ebersohn.

Waratahs – Tries: Dave Dennis, Sitaleki Timani (2), Rob Horne. Conversions: Brendan McKibbin (4). Penalties: McKibbin (2).