Johannesburg - The Lions have named their strongest possible side for Saturday's Super Rugby clash against the Sunwolves in Johannesburg.
Almost all of the players who were on Springbok and SA 'A' duty during the international break return to side, with only captain Warren Whiteley sidelined with his torn pelvic ligament.
Jaco Kriel will captain in Whiteley's absence while Andries Coetzee, Courtnall Skosan, Lionel Mapoe, Elton Jantjies, Ross Cronje, Franco Mostert, Ruan Dreyer and Malcolm Marx all start.
There is also a return on the right wing for Ruan Combrinck,
The Lions are chasing top spot in on the overall log in the competition and home ground advantage throughout the play-offs, and five log points against the Sunwolves is a must.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 17:15.
Teams:
Lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Jacques Nel, 23 Sylvian Mahuza
Sunwolves
TBA