Lions to unleash Tshituka brothers against Sharks

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has revealed his team for their Currie Cup encounter against the Sharks at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The starting XV boasts three players fresh from United Rugby Championship duty namely prop forward JP Smith and the Tshituka brothers, Emmanuel and Vincent.

The backline compilation promises to deliver a few exciting runs with Jurich Claasens and Vaughen Isaacs tasked to marshal the attack for the Lions.

Nkosi believes his troops will be eager to have a crack at the Sharks this weekend, a month after their opening home game against the Pumas in Johannesburg.

"We've had four weeks to reflect and work on quite a few aspects of our game which we felt needed attention," said Nkosi.

"As management, we believe the hard work the guys put in over past four weeks will reap rewards as we resume our campaign," he concluded.

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Boldwin Hansen, 13 James Mollentze, 12 Matt More, 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Vaughen Isaacs, 9 Jurich Claasens, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Simon Dinisio, 4 PJ Steenkamp, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (captain), 2 Dameon Venter, 1 JP Smith.

Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Banele Mthenjane, 18 Chergin Fillies, 19 Lunga Ncube 20 MJ Pelser, 21 Ginter Smuts, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Tyler Bocks.

Date: Saturday, February 19

Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)

Referee: AJ Jacobs

Assistant Referees: Rasta Rasivhenge, Local

TMO: Marius Jonker