Boshoff not out in cold, insists Ackermann

Cape Town - Lions coach Johan Ackermann insists Marnitz Boshoff still has a role to play for the team in Super Rugby this year, despite keeping the flyhalf out of his match-day squad for Saturday’s Super Rugby clash against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

After a disappointing performance against the Highlanders a few weeks ago, Boshoff was dropped to play Vodacom Cup rugby for the Golden Lions last weekend.

Boshoff played well as the Golden Lions beat the SWD Eagles 29-21 in the Vodacom Cup quarter-finals.

However, according to SARU regulations, a player is required to play at least three matches during the Vodacom Cup in order to the picked for the semi-finals and final.

This means Boshoff, who also found no spot on the bench for the Lions’ Super Rugby side, is out in the cold this weekend.

Elton Jantjies will start at flyhalf for the Lions, with Jaco van der Walt his understudy on the bench.

Ackermann though said Boshoff will not be discarded for the remainder of the competition.

“We’ll definitely still use him in this campaign,” Ackermann told Netwerk24.

“Marnitz will probably be our first choice flyhalf in the upcoming Currie Cup because Elton will return to Japan. However, we felt it was important for Jaco to get a bit of game time before the Currie Cup. Jaco is slightly more comfortable at fullback and we’d like that versatility on the bench.”

Saturday’s clash between the Cheetahs and Lions at Free State Stadium kicks off at 17:05.

Teams:

Cheetahs:

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Boom Prinsloo, 6 Carel Greeff, 5 Francois Uys (captain), 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Danie Minnie

Substitutes: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 BG Uys, 18 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Coenie van Wyk, 23 Rayno Benjamin

Lions:

15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Ruan Combrinck, 13. Lionel Mapoe, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Courtnall Skosan, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Faf de Klerk, 8. Warren Whiteley (captain), 7. Warwick Tecklenburg, 6.  Jaco Kriel, 5. Martin Muller, 4. Andries Ferreira, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Jacques van Rooyen

Substitutes: 16. Armand van der Merwe, 17. Schalk van der Merwe, 18. Julian Redelinghuys, 19. Franco Mostert, 20. Robert Kruger, 21. Ross Cronje, 22. Jaco van der Walt, 23. Harold Vorster