Lions lose another fly-half

Editor

Lions coach Johan Ackermann has been forced to withdraw fly-half Jaco van der Walt from his side to face Western Province.

Lions coach Johan Ackermann has been forced to withdraw fly-half Jaco van der Walt from his side to face Western Province in their Currie Cup clash in Cape Town on Saturday.

Van der Walt sustained a knee injury during last weekend's clash with the Eastern Province Kings at Ellis Park.

The 20-year-old has been unable to recover in time for Saturday's match but it is hoped he will return to action next week.

As a result, Stokkies Hanekom will shift to flyhalf. Lionel Mapoe moves to outside centre, while Courtnall Skosan will start at wing.

“It is unfortunate Jaco cannot play, as it would have been a great learning experience for him to come up against a solid Western Province outfit,” Ackermann said in a statement.

“We are, however, confident in our new selections and are looking forward to our run out in Cape Town.”

The Lions' depth at flyhalf is wearing thin after first-choice pivot Marnitz Boshoff fractured his right arm in their first-round match against the Blue Bulls.

Golden Lions (revised): 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Stokkies Hanekom, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Derick Minnie (capt), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 MB Lusaseni, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Guy Cronje, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Howard Mnisi.

Date: Saturday, August 23
Kick-off: 17:05 local (16:05 BST, 15:05 GMT)
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Marc van Zyl
Television match official: Deon van Blommestein
Assessor: Deon van Blommestein