CRAIG LEWIS looks ahead to the final four matches in round five of the competition.
SUNWOLVES vs STORMERS (Saturday, 12:55)
The Stormers will not have quickly forgotten their last trip to Singapore, when they had to rely on a late comeback to salvage a paltry draw against the Sunwolves.
After a bye last weekend, they’ve prioritised their preparations for this clash, and will not be found guilty of underestimating the Sunwolves again.
Stormers coach Robbie Fleck has made eight personnel changes and three positional shifts from the side that beat the Kings last time out, with Seabelo Senatla sure to draw plenty of attention in his first start of the season.
The Stormers are still unbeaten this year, and should have little trouble in condemning the Sunwolves to their fifth successive defeat.
Sunwolves – 15 Jamie-Jerry Taulagi, 14 Shota Emi, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Jumpei Ogura, 9 Keisuke Uchida, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Shokei Kin, 6 Ed Quirk (c), 5 Sam Wykes, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Heiichiro Ito, 2 Yusuke Niwai, 1 Koki Yamamoto.
Subs: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Uwe Helu, 20 Shumei Matsuhashi, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Hayden Cripps, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka.
Stormers – 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 JD Shickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Subs: 16 Ramone Samuels, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Cobus Wiese, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Dan du Plessis.
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KINGS vs LIONS (Saturday, 15:05)
Both teams would have been encouraged by their performances last weekend. The Lions looked to be back to their best as they routed the Reds, while the Kings very nearly caused a massive upset against the Sharks.
The Lions have named their strongest available lineup for Saturday, and although they have lost Lionel Mapoe to injury, this is clearly a clash that they are not taking lightly.
Very little currently separates the Jaguares, Sharks and Lions in the Africa 2 conference, and so this is certainly an encounter where last year’s runners-up will hope to bank a full-house of log points.
As it is, the Lions have won the only previous two encounters between these teams by margins of 35 points or more, and another convincing win can certainly be expected.
Kings – 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Waylon Murray, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Lionel Cronjé (c), 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Chris Cloete, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Irne Herbst, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Kurt Haupt, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Subs: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Justin Forwood, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Stefan Willemse, 21 Johan Steyn, 22 Pieter-Steyn de Wet, 23 Luzuko Vulindlu.
Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Hencus van Wyk, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Jacques Nel, 23 Sylvian Mahuza.
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CHEETAHS vs SHARKS (Saturday, 17:15)
After surviving a considerable scare against the Kings last weekend, the Sharks will be determined to erase the inordinate number of basic errors that blighted their performance in Durban.
There does appear to be a better balance to the Sharks’ backline now that Clement Poitrenaud has been declared fit to take up his place at fullback, while Curwin Bosch comes in at flyhalf, where he will need to take control of proceedings.
The Cheetahs have also returned to full-strength after last weekend’s limp showing against the Jaguares in Argentina, while receiving a considerable boost as the likes of Ox Nche, Raymond Rhule, Nico Lee, Francois Venter and Sergeal Petersen all return from injury.
Interestingly, the Sharks have won eight of their last 11 games against the Cheetahs, including each of their last two in which they’ve conceded a total of 20 points, and their defence will again need to be at its best on Saturday.
This is a game where you predict a winner at your peril, but with home-ground advantage on their side and a number of influential first-choice players back in action, the Cheetahs may just edge it.
Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 Nico Lee, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Henco Venter, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Francois Uys, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Carl Wegner, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Tian Meyer, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Rayno Benjamin/Clinton Swart.
Sharks – 15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Tera Mtembu (c), 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Stephan Coetzee, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Daniel du Preez, 21 Michael Claassens, 22 Jeremy Ward, 23 Garth April.
JAGUARES vs REDS (Saturday, 23:40)
The Jaguares have begun to show signs that they are a side that will be a real force to be reckoned with this season, and particularly at home, where they’ve begun to play with clinical confidence.
Last weekend’s impressive win over the Cheetahs has now seen the Jaguares claim victory in four of their last five Super Rugby games, and they should comfortably overcome the Reds in the final game of this weekend.
The Reds have won only one of their last 16 games outside Australia, and after meekly succumbing to defeat in Johannesburg last weekend, they have now travelled across to Argentina without suspended playmaker Quade Cooper.
Jaguares – 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Bautista Ezcurra, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Felipe Arregui, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Lucas Noguera Paz.
Subs: 16 Roberto Tejerizo, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Nicolás Sánchez, 23 Emiliano Boffelli.
Reds – 15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Izaia Perese, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 James Tuttle, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Adam Korczyk, 6 Leroy Houston, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Markus Vanzati.
Subs: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Kirwan Sanday, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lukhan Tui, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Lachie Maranta, 23 Chris Kuridrani.
Photo: Howard Cleland/Gallo Images
