STARTS FOR LOMBARD, MAXWANE AS LIONS WELCOME TOP OF THE TABLE GLASGOW

• Gianni Lombard and speedster Rabz Maxwane to start against Glasgow Warriors this Saturday.
• Emmanuel Tshituka reclaims his spot in the loose trio.
• A play-off spot in the competition is still within reach for the Johannesburg side.

The Emirates Lions welcome Scottish outfit and log leaders Glasgow Warriors to Emirates Airline Park for Round 17 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. Kick-off in Johannesburg is at 16:05.

Ivan van Rooyen’s men will see Saturday as another opportunity to cement a play-off spot after a 34-13 bonus point win over Cardiff Rugby last weekend.

His assistant coach and scrum guru Julian Redelinghuys was under no illusions this week about the quality of their opponents despite going down the Vodacom Bulls in their recent fixture. In the same breath, Redelinghuys warned against relying on altitude as a weapon to pip the Franco Smith coached side.

“They’re a well-coached team and are top of the log; best in the tackling stats, and best in defensive stats,” said the former Springbok prop.

“The questions we have are, are they going to stick to their DNA, or try and do what Munster and Cardiff did, which is kick the ball and not want to play too much.”

“From our side, if you rely on the altitude to win a game for you, you’re going to make a mistake. Glasgow didn’t go lay down in the last 20 minutes against the Bulls, they actually made a step up,” he concluded.

In other team news, prop Morgan Naude returns to the starting line-up with Ruan Dreyer providing cover as an impact player. Sanele Nohamba and Jordan Hendrikse occupy the two backline spots on the bench.

Emirates Lions Match 23

1.           Morgan Naude

2.           PJ Botha

3.           Asenathi Ntlabakanye

4.           Willem Alberts

5.           Ruan Delport

6.           JC Pretorius

7.           Emmanuel Tshituka

8.           Francke Horn

9.           Morne van den Berg

10.         Gianni Lombard

11.         Edwill van der Merwe

12.         Marius Louw (c)

13.         Erich Cronje

14.         Rabz Maxwane

15.         Quan Horn

Replacements

16.         Jaco Visagie

17.         JP Smith

18.         Ruan Dreyer

19.         Reinhard Nothnagel

20.         Ruan Venter

21.         Hanru Sirgel

22.         Sanele Nohmaba

23.         Jordan Hendrikse

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Steyn (CAPT), Stafford McDowall, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Rowe, Tom Jordan, George Horne, Oli Kebble, Angus Fraser, Murphy Walker, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Euan Ferrie, Rory Darge, Henco Venter

Replacements: Johnny Matthews, Jamie Bhatti, Zander Fagerson, Max Williamson, Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey, Jamie Dobie, Duncan Weir

The Disciplinary process related to Ruan Venter Red Card in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round 17 game against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday May 18 has resulted in a four game suspension.

After an act of foul play by Emirates Lions player No 20 (Ruan Venter), referee Craig Evans showed the Player a Red Card in the 35th minute of the game under Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

In the Player’s responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Tommy Dalton), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a Red Card. Mr. Dalton found that the incident met the Red Card threshold, with entry of mid-range warranting six weeks. The Player received two weeks mitigation due to his apology, good record and his full engaged participation in the disciplinary process which results in a four game suspension.

Should the Player complete the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme then the sanction will be reduced by one week.

Fixtures Ruan Venter is unavailable for:

DHL Stormers v Emirates Lions, 1 June 2024 Vodacom URC

WITS URC v Alberton, 8 June 2024

WITS URC v Roodenpoort, 15 June 2024

WITS URC v Raiders, 22 June 2024