Lourens Erasmus will start at flank for the Lions in the semi-final against the Waratahs on Saturday after Cyle Brink was ruled out with an injury.
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Brink sustained a ‘stinger’ during the quarter-final against the Jaguares last week. While he was expected to be fit in time to face the Waratahs, the Lions confirmed on Thursday that he has not recovered sufficiently.
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Erasmus, who primarily plays as a lock, has been elevated to the starting lineup, with Hacjivah Dayimani joining the bench.
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Coach Swys de Bruin has otherwise selected an unchanged side.
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Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Lourens Erasmus, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Corne Fourie, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Hacjivah Dayimani, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Dillon Smith, 22 Courtnall Skosan, 23 Howard Mnisi.
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Super Rugby teams (Semi-finals)
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Photo: Nic Bothma/BackpagePix