Cell C Sharks Team To Play Emirates Lions

Feb 15 • General News, Super Rugby, Super Rugby News • 2028 Views • Comments Off on Cell C Sharks Team To Play Emirates Lions

Date	Saturday, 17 February 2018
Time	17h15
Venue	Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Referee	Glen Jackson
Assistant Referee	AJ Jacobs, Cwengile Jadezweni
Television Match Official	Marius Jonker

15. Lwazi Mvovo

14. Sbu Nkosi

13. Lukhanyo Am

12. Andre Esterhuizen

11. Makazole Mapimpi

10. Robert du Preez

9. Cameron Wright

8. Keegan Daniel

7. Jacques Vermeulen

6. Philip van der Walt

5. Stephan Lewies

4. Ruan Botha (c)

3. Thomas du Toit

2. Franco Marais

1. Juan Schoeman

Replacements

16. Akker van der Merwe

17. John-Hubert Meyer

18. Beast Mtawarira

19. Hyron Andrews

20. Daniel du Preez

21. Michael Claassens

22. Curwin Bosch

23. Kobus van Wyk

Notes: Quotes from Head Coach, Robert du Preez.

“This squad has worked extremely hard in the pre-season and what’s especially pleasing to see is the vibe and excitement in the group. Every player was given an opportunity during the warm-up games and so many of them put their hands up, which made it extremely difficult to decide on our matchday 23. Naturally, the guys who have been left out will feel desperately disappointed as they have all put in the hard yards. I stressed the fact that this campaign is going to be a squad effort and every guy will be called upon, at different stages, to contribute to the team’s goals.

“This is an important game and a great start will set the tone for our campaign. We are excited to go out there and play.”

Interesting Facts

The Cell C Sharks and Emirates Lions have played each other 19 times. The Cell C Sharks lead with 10 wins to 8 with one match drawn;
Philip van der Walt made 170 tackles in Vodacom Super Rugby 2017, more than any other player and missed just six further attempts;
Akker van der Merwe, Makazole Mapimpi and Robert du Preez (junior) will be earning their first Vodacom Super Rugby cap for the Cell C Sharks.