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30/01/2008 22:17
Johannesburg - Joe van Niekerk will be let loose only when the Lions start their Super 14 rugby campaign against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on February 16.
The Springbok loose forward, who has returned to his old hunting grounds from the Western Cape, will not play in any of the Lions' three warm-up matches before the start of the Super 14 competition.
Lions coach Eugene Eloff said on Wednesday Van Niekerk would be given some more time off during the next few weeks. "He will be ready when the Super 14 starts," Eloff said.
The Lions take on a Blue Bulls team at the University of the Witwatersrand on Thursday night. On Saturday, they play against the Bulls' Super 14 side in Windhoek, Namibia.
Then, in Durban on February 6, they meet the Sharks, who lost in the last movement of last year's Super 14 final against the Bulls.
The team against the Sharks will be a combined one, selected from the players who turned out in the first two matches.
Lock Anton van Zyl and centre Jannie Boshoff will also not be considered for the Windhoek match. They are still being rested.
Eloff will take 25 players to Namibia - the starting lineup and ten substitutes.
The Lions coach has called in a senior referee, Willie Roos, to ensure the players understand the experimental laws to be used in the Super 14.
"They will also have to prove in the warm-up matches that they can adapt to the new laws," Eloff said.
"They have worked hard and well and one can see they are ready and eager to start playing."
The team for the Windhoek match: Louis Ludik, Dusty Noble, Jaco Pretorius, Doppies la Grange, Rayno Benjamin, Louis Strydom, Jano Vermaak, Willem Alberts, Ernst Joubert (capt), Cobus Grobbelaar, Franco van der Merwe, Cobus Grobler, Eugene Maqwelena, Willie Wepener, Heinke van der Merwe.
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