Zeilinga to pivot Lions against his former team

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has revealed his team to face the Cheetahs on Saturday in Bloemfontein.

Nkosi named a strong match 23 which features the explosive centre combination of Tyler Bocks and James Mollentze.

Experienced flyhalf Fred Zelinga has been tasked with spearheading the attack, as flyer Rabz Maxwane starts on the right wing against his former team.

The Lions have yet to record a win this season.

However, Nkosi believes the trip to Bloemfontein is an opportunity to turn the season around.

"It doesn’t get easier at all visiting the competition favourites, but that’s the nature of the competition," Nkosi said.

"We’re expecting a motivated Cheetahs team who will look to play an expansive game on their home pitch.”

He added: “We spoke extensively about implementing our plans and more importantly retaining our focus for longer periods of the game.

“Looking back at our last outing against the Sharks, we felt costly errors let us down and we know a team like the Cheetahs will pounce if given the opportunity. If we can limit those little mistakes, we’ll be in with a real chance of achieving a positive result."

Lions: 15 Tiaan Swanepoel 14 Rabz Maxwane 13 James Mollentze 12Tyler Bocks 11 Divan Rossouw 10 Fred Zeilinga 9 Jurich Claasens 8 Jarod Cairns 7 Emmanuel Tshituka 6 Sibusiso Sangweni 5 Simon Dinisio 4 Lunga Ncube 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (captain) 2 PJ Botha 1 JP Smith

Replacements: 16 Dameon Venter 17 Banele Mthenjane 18 Chergin Fillies 19 Izan Esterhuizen 20 MJ Pelser 21 Ginter Smuts 22 James Tedder 23 Luke Rossouw.

Date: Saturday, March 5

Venue: Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni

Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira, Local

TMO: Ben Crouse