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Mnisi happy to extend Lions stay

Johannesburg - Lions centre Howard Mnisi says he was delighted to extend his contract at the union, keeping him in Johannesburg until the end of 2016.

Mnisi was one of several players who committed to new contracts with the Lions.

Other senior players include fullback Andries Coetzee, wing Ruan Combrinck and lock MB Lusaseni, while junior hooker Malcolm Marx, flank Kwagga Smith, flyhalf Jaco van der Walt, and locks Lourens Erasmus and Bobby de Wee have also agreed new deals.

To date, the Lions have secured 95% of their senior squad until the end of 2016.

Mnisi said these announcements created an exciting future at the Lions.

“I’ve enjoyed my growth and progress at the Lions, so it was a no-brainer to sign a new contract,” Mnisi told MyPlayers.co.za. “The fact that so many players are committing their futures means we have something good here at the Lions. We have so much potential. We just need to continue working hard as a team and fulfil on it.”

The Lions suffered 30-20 loss against the Brumbies at home last Saturday.

While Mnisi admitted that it was a disappointing result for the team, he stressed that they will be working hard to return to winning ways against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

“The loss was disappointing, but the guys returned to training on Monday in high spirits. We have to continue looking ahead and focus on what’s in front of us,” said Mnisi.

“Here at the Lions, we take everything week by week. And this weekend, we face the Cheetahs, who are always a tough challenge in Bloemfontein. We need to ensure we prepare well for the match and focus on our strengths and game plan.”

Kick-off for Saturday’s clash at Free State Stadium is scheduled for 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

For more exclusive player content, check out MyPlayers.co.za

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