Mnisi will lead his Lions with pride
Johan Ackermann’s Lions have continued to pick up wins and thrill the fans, and Kings clash should be no different.
|||Johannesburg - Despite missing 10 players who helped the Lions to their best Super Rugby finish earlier this year, Johan Ackermann’s Golden Lions have continued to pick up wins and thrill the fans, and on Saturday night should be no different when they host the EP Kings in a fifth round Currie Cup encounter at Ellis Park (kick-off 7.10pm).
The Lions have collected all 20 points on offer so far with wins against the Kings (away), the Pumas (home), the Sharks (away) and the Pumas again, last weekend in Nelspruit.
It’s been another impressive campaign by Ackermann’s men, achieved without the likes of Lionel Mapoe, Harold Vorster, Elton Jantjies, Faf de Klerk, Warren Whiteley, Warwick Tecklenburg and Armand van der Merwe, while on Saturday they’re also without Courtnall Skosan, Franco Mostert and Ross Cronje, who’re all being rested. Jaco Kriel, who was named Currie Cup captain in Whiteley’s absence at the start of the season, also misses the game because of injury.
In his place as team leader on Saturday night will be Howard Mnisi, the hard-running centre who’ll become the Lions’ first black captain. He takes over from Cronje, who fulfilled the duties last weekend. Mnisi says it’s a privilege to lead the side. “I’ve got a job to focus on and that’s all I’ll be doing. I want to perform well and lead the team to the best of my ability,” he said.
Ackermann says picking Mnisi was an obvious choice. “He’s shown he can lead the backs and I’ve got full confidence in his ability. It’s great to name him our captain. He’s the only player to have played all 80 minutes of our four games so far.”
Coming up against a fairly new-look team, the Kings will hope for a better showing than when the teams first met, in round one in Port Elizabeth when they were hammered 51-14, but the Lions will be as desperate to make it five in a row.
“The Kings have improved since our first meeting and like all the teams, they’ll be putting their best foot forward this weekend,” Mnisi said.
“The Kings will be energised, despite the situation they’ve found themselves in this week and they’ll come at us guns blazing. But we haven’t fired for 80 minutes yet this season and will look to put that right.”
The Kings have had a tough week, with the players staying away from training on Tuesday after not being paid, and will arrive in Johannesburg perhaps a little uncertain about their futures at the union.
Key for the Lions on Saturday will be their half-back pairing of Lohan Jacobs, picked ahead of Cronje, and Jaco van der Walt, who starts ahead of Marnitz Boshoff. They’re almost guaranteed to receive quality ball from their pack, but how they use it will determine whether the Lions aer victorious.
It’s a clash where the hosts dare not come unstuck because so out-of-sorts are the visitors that failure against them would be viewed as nothing short of a missed opportunity.
Saturday Star