Griquas named a much-changed team for their Super Rugby Unlocked encounter against the Lions in Johannesburg on Friday evening.
The men from Kimberley learned on Wednesday that their match against the Lions had been given the all-clear after consultation with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
The Lions were forced to isolate a number of their squad members and ultimately call off their match against the Cheetahs which should have been their first home game of the campaign.
Mathie rings changes
Griquas were themselves out of action last weekend with a bye but coach Scott Mathie named a team with just six members of the starting lineup that faced the Pumas a fortnight ago retained.
The six players who will start in the same positions as two weekends ago, are the midfield pairing of Harlon Klaasen and Andre Swartz, the halfbacks George Whitehead and Zak Burger, Stefan Willemse (flank) and HJ Luus (hooker).
James Verity-Amm moves from wing to fullback and Carl Els from flank to Number Eight. The other players in the match-23 are basically new, with prop Andrew Beerwinkel, lock pairing Adre Smith and Mzwanele Zito and flanker Gideon van der Merwe promoted from the bench.
The two starting props from the match against the Pumas John-Roy Jenkinson and Mox Mxoli while Anthony Volmink, Daniel Kasende, Niell Jordaan, Victor Sekekete and Ian Groenewald, all of them starters in their last match, were axed by Mathie.
The new faces on the bench are Monde Hadebe, Johan Momsen, Ewan Coetzee, Theo Maree, Tinus de Beer, Masixole Banda, Bandisa Ndlovu, CJ Velleman and Johnathan Francke, although Mathie must still decide which eight will be the official replacements for the match.
Ndlovu, Velleman and Banda are new additions to the Peacock Blues’ squad, while Volmink, Groenewald and Sekekete have all moved to other unions.
Super Rugby Unlocked – Griquas team
Griquas: 15 James Verity-Amm, 14 Ederies Arendse, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 André Swarts, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 George Whitehead (captain), 9 Zak Burger, 8 Carl Els, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Adré Smith, 4 Mzwanele Zito, 3 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 2 HJ Luus, 1 Andrew Beerwinkel. Replacements: 16 Monde Hadebe, 17 Mox Mxoli, 18 John-Roy Jenkinson, 19 Johan Momsen, 20 Ewan Coetzee, 21 Theo Maree, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Masixole Banda, 24 Bandisa Ndlovu, 25 CJ Velleman, 26 Johnathan Francke.
Match information – Lions vs Griquas
Date: Friday, 30 October
Time: 19h00
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Referee: Marius van der Westhuizen
Assistant Referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron, Stuart Berry
Television Match Official: Jaco Peyper
TV: SuperSport Grandstand and Rugby
