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Johannesburg - Lions coach John Mitchell has shown faith in the side which came close to beating the Bulls last week by selecting an unchanged match 22 for Saturday’s Vodacom Super Rugby match against the Stormers in Cape Town.
Kick-off is at 19:10.
Mitchell explained on Thursday that his decision to give the same men a second chance is part of his plan to build trust and continuity in his squad.
“I’m a big believer in putting the accountability back on the same group,” said Mitchell.
“I’m also in the process of building trust and unity here so, when everyone was reported fit, it was important to keep the same group," he said.
This put an end to speculation that former Kiwi Sevens star James Kamana would earn a start after the great impact he had in the second half of last week’s match.
There was also an underlying message that nothing less than the best will be good enough come Saturday.
“I’m not a merchant for chop-and-change, but with the accountability coming back onto the team and the individuals, those who under-performed in their, and our, view will have to shift and lift their performances this week.”
Looking ahead to the challenges his charges face against a highly respected team like the Stormers, Mitchell said the men from Cape Town are a different kettle of fish.
“They have a difficult attacking style from that which we experienced on the weekend and a different defensive system which presents us with different opportunities. So it’s about us focusing on ourselves and exposing those opportunities.
“They are last year’s Super Rugby finalists, Currie Cup finalists and they’ll have enormous confidence.
“They’ll also be excited to get started because it must be an unusual feeling not to have started already and it is at home for them which they see that as a fortress.”
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger (captain), 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Rynhardt Elstadt, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 CJ van der Linde
Substitutes: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Juan de Jongh
Lions:
15 Jaco Taute, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Doppies La Grange, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Josh Strauss, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe (captain), 4 George Earl, 3 Patrick Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg
Substitutes: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Kevin Buys, 18 Wikus van Heerden, 19 Cobus Grobbelaar, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Burton Francis, 22 James Kamana
