Griquas bench Pretorius
Sarel Pretorius in action (www.superimage.co.za)
Griquas head coach Dawie Theron rocked the Griquas foundations by dropping his star scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius to the bench.
The Griquas face off against the Lions at Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg on Saturday 11 September at 15h00.
Both teams find themselves in a must win situation if they want to keep their hopes alive of a chance at the play-offs. The Lions are currently in 5th place on 25 points with the Griquas just one place behind on 24 points.
The Lions and Griquas are on completely different paths at the moment. The Lions have won their last four matches, including an impressive drubbing of WP while the Griquas need to turn their season around after losing their last three matches.
Only time will tell if dropping such a bomb ahead of a crucial clash was the right thing to do.
Marnus Hugo replaces Pretorius in the starting line-up.
Theron admitted that he axed Pretorius to shock the scrumhalf.
“Sarel is a brilliant player, but he is trying too hard at present” Theron told the Afrikaans newspaper, Volksblad.
“It will be good for him to get some perspective” the coach added.
Pretorius shrugged of his exclusion.
“I will remain loyal to Griquas and will give my all to my teammates,” Pretorius told the newspaper, adding: “My goal is to help Griquas reach the play-offs.”
Griquas:
15. Riaan Viljoen, 14. Rocco Jansen, 13. Wilmaure Louw, 12. Barry Geel, 11. Bjorn Basson, 10. Naas Olivier(Captain), 9. Marnus Hugo, 8. Davon Raubenheimer, 7. Justin Downey, 6. Johan van Deventer, 5. Cecil Kemp, 4. Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3. Jean Botha, 2. Simon Westraadt, 1. Steph Roberts.
Replacements: 16. Ryno Barnes, 17. Jacobie Adriaanse, 18. Edwin Hewitt, 19. Burger Schoeman, 20. Sarel Pretorius, 21. Richard Lawson, 22. Rudi Vogt.
Lions:
15. Jaco Taute, 14. Jannie Boshoff, 13. Waylon Murray, 12. Doppies la Grange, 11. Michael Killian, 10. Elton Jantjies, 9. Jano Vermaak, 8. Warren Whiteley, 7. Joshua Strauss, 6. Derick Minnie, 5. Franco van der Merwe (Captain), 4. Johan Snyman, 3. Ross Geldenhuys, 2. Martin Bezuidenhout, 1. JC Janse van Rensburg
Replacements: 16. Edgar Marutlulle, 17. Wayne Swart, 18. David Bulbring, 19. Renaldo Bothma, 20. JP Joubert, 21. Burton Francis, 22. Marius Delport
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees: Quinton Immelman, Madel de Villiers
TMO: JC Fortuin
Date: 11 September 2010
Kick-off: 15h00
Venue: Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
[james@rugby15.co.za]
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