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Cape Town - Lions skipper Warren Whiteley has revealed he survived an attempted hijacking by gun-wielding men earlier in the season.
Whiteley was on Thursday declared fit to lead the Lions in Saturday’s Super Rugby final against the Hurricanes in Wellington.
He missed last weekend’s semi-final against the Highlanders with a calf injury.
Ahead of Saturday’s final, Whiteley has opened up about an incident which occurred the day before the Lions’ regular season match against the ‘Canes in Johannesburg on April 30 - a game the Kiwis won 50-17.
According to SuperSport.com, Whiteley had just left the captain’s practice at Ellis Park and was on his way home a day before the match when he was accosted at a traffic light by gun-wielding hijackers.
“They didn’t take my car,” he said. “But they took my wallet and phone. They never wanted my kitbag full of kit, they threw that back into the car.”
A shaken Whiteley went home and told team management of the incident, and while no member of the team has spoken in interviews about it, or used it as an excuse for their worst result of the season a day later, it likely played a part in the heavy defeat.
But the Lions rebounded and subsequently reached their first Super Rugby final in the professional era.
Saturday’s clash in Wellington is scheduled for 09:35 (SA time).
Teams:
Hurricanes
15 James Marshall, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Jason Woodward, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Michael Fatialofa, 4 Vaea Fifita, 3 Ben May, 2 Dane Coles (captain)/Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Loni Uhila
Substitutes: 16 Ricky Riccitelli/Leni Apisai, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Mike Kainga/Reggie Goodes, 19 Mark Abbott, 20 Callum Gibbins/Tony Lambourn, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Vince Aso, 23 Julian Savea
Lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5, Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylon Smith
Substitutes: 16 Armand ‘Akker’ van der Merwe, 17 Corner Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Jaco van der Walt
