Lions leave Butch on the bench

Lions coach John Mitchell has announced an unchanged starting XV to take on the Sharks in the Currie Cup Final in Johannesburg on Saturday.

It means 2007 World Cup-winning Springbok Butch James, one of two players in the Bok mix at the 2011 version of the global showpiece, will again play off the bench - as he did in last weekend's semifinal win over WP.

The Lions' other World Cup Bok, CJ Van der Linde, will again start at loosehead prop.

Prop JC Janse van Rensburg could possibly make a return from injury off the bench. His availability to play will only be confirmed before kick-off, said Mitchell.

According to Lions boss Mitchell, his team will focus only on what lies ahead of them on Saturday.

The side was surrounded by hype ahead of the weekend's crucial match with hundreds of fans queuing for autographs from the players on Wednesday.

The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) confirmed that all 62,000 tickets for the final had sold out, the first time since the 2002 final between the Lions and the Blue Bulls that Ellis Park would be filled to capacity.

"We got through our work and we are ready to go and obviously today [Wednesday] we wanted to connect with our community and fans."

Lions lock Wikus van Heerden, the only man who played in the 2002 final, said it was a welcome change to be rewarded for the hard work that they had put in.

"The great thing is that we are not a young group anymore; we went through a whole grooming process through Super 15 and in our second year of Currie Cup," he said.

"Butch [James] mentioned on the field today that we need to play the game only on Saturday and not get ahead of ourselves."

Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Joshua Strauss (captain), 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Wikus van Heerden, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 CJ van der Linde.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse/JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Warren Whiteley, 19 Cobus Grobbelaar, 20 Butch James, 21 Dylan Des Fountain, 22 James Kamana.

Date: Saturday, October 29
Venue: Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant referees: Stefan Breytenbach, Marius Jonker
TMO: Johann Meuwesen

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