Lions coach: My son deserves his spot!

Cape Town - Lions coach Johan Ackermann is surprised by rumours of unhappiness due to the inclusion of his son, Ruan, in the starting team for their clash against the Cheetahs in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Ruan Ackermann, 20, gets his first start in the place of Warwick Tecklenburg who will sit out a one-week suspension.

Recent reports have indicated that there is unhappiness among the young players in the Lions squad who feel Ruan Ackermann is getting preferential treatment.

Johan Ackermann was surprised when probed about the matter on Thursday.

“No player has come up to me and complained about it,” the coach told Netwerk24. “There are also only smiles at the practices and I did not notice any unhappiness. I would want any player who is unhappy about it to come and discuss it with me.

“I don’t know where it comes from. As far as I’m concerned, Ruan has taken his chance. He has worked very hard to get here.”

Saturday will be Ruan’s third appearance in Super Rugby, but first start for the team after coming on as a substitute against the Sunwolves and Highlanders on the recent tour.

Saturday’s clash at Ellis Park is scheduled for 17:05.

Teams:

Lions

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnal Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx 1 Dylan Smith

Substitutes: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Rohan Janse van Rensburg

Cheetahs

15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (captain), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Neil Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais

Substitutes: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Hilton Lobberts, 21 Boom Prinsloo, 22 Tian Meyer, 23 Fred Zeilinga