The Lions have made key changes to the pack for Saturday’s Currie Cup Round 5 clash against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, with lock Darrien Landsberg returning to the starting side and taking over the captaincy.

The reshuffle in the tight five sees three changes. Morne Brandon comes in at hooker with Jaco Visagie providing cover, while Juan Schoeman starts at loosehead prop ahead of SJ Kotze. RF Schoeman retains the No 3 jersey to complete the front row.

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In the second row, Landsberg slots in alongside Ruben Schoeman, replacing Dylan Sjoblom. The loose trio remains settled, with Renzo du Plessis and Siba Qoma joining Jarod Cairns.

The backline is unchanged from the side that edged the Pumas in Nelspruit last week. Gianni Lombard anchors the last line at fullback, with Angelo Davids and Kelly Mpeku on the wings. Lubabalo Dobela and Nico Steyn continue their halfback partnership, while Manuel Rass and Rynhardt Jonker line up in midfield.

Both teams head into the clash with 3-1 records from their opening four matches. The Lions sit third on the table, just a point behind the Cheetahs, who held off a late Western Province surge in their most recent outing.

With playoff positions already taking shape, Saturday’s encounter in Bloemfontein brings two in-form sides head-to-head, with Landsberg leading the Pride for the first time.

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LIONS – 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Darrien Landsberg (c), 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Bench: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Sam Francis, 23 Tapiwa Mafura.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images