The Golden Lions Rugby Union announced the MTN Golden Lions team to play the Vodacom Blue Bulls on Saturday, 13 October 2012 at Coca-Cola Park, this afternoon.
There are eight changes to the starting line up who played the Griquas last weekend:
1. CJ van der Linde replaces JC Janse van Rensburg at Loose Head Prop
2. Pat Cilliers (back from the Springboks) replaces Jacobie Adriaanse at Tight Head Prop
3. Paul Willemse replaces Franco van der Merwe at Right Lock
4. Jaco Kriel replaces Cobus Grobbelaar at Left Flanker
5. Derick Minnie replaces Jaco Kriel at Right Flanker
6. Willie Britz replaces Warren Whiteley at Number Eight
7. Anthony Volmink replaces Ruan Combrinck at Left Wing
8. Ruan Combrinck replaces Andries Coetzee at Full Back
On the bench there are six changes:
1. Jacobie Adriaanse replaces Caylib Oosthuizen at Reserve Prop
2. Franco van der Merwe replaces Willie Britz at Utility Forward
3. Warren Whiteley replaces Derick Minnie at Utility Forward
4. Whestley Moolman replaces Guy Cronje at Reserve Scrum Half
5. Elton Jantjies replaces Dylan des Fountain at Utility Back
6. Lionel Mapoe replaces James Kamana at Utility Back
Butch James will be captain for the match with Derick Minnie as his vice captain.
The team is:
| No | Position | Name | Surname |
| 15 | Fullback | Ruan | Combrinck |
| 14 | Right Wing | Deon | Helberg |
| 13 | Right Centre | Deon | Van Rensburg |
| 12 | Left Centre | Alwyn | Hollenbach |
| 11 | Left Wing | Anthony | Volmink |
| 10 | Flyhalf | Butch | James (c) |
| 9 | Scrumhalf | Ross | Cronje |
| 8 | Number Eight | Willie | Britz |
| 7 | Right Flanker | Derick | Minnie (vc) |
| 6 | Left Flanker | Jaco | Kriel |
| 5 | Right Lock | Paul | Willemse |
| 4 | Left Lock | Michael | Rhodes |
| 3 | Tight Head Prop | Pat | Cilliers |
| 2 | Hooker | Callie | Visagie |
| 1 | Loose Head Prop | CJ | Van der Linde |
| Replacements: | |||
| 16 | Hooker | Bandise | Maku |
| 17 | Prop | Jacobie | Adriaanse |
| 18 | Forward Lock | Franco | Van der Merwe |
| 19 | Loose Forward | Warren | Whiteley |
| 20 | Utility Back | Whestley | Moolman |
| 21 | Utility Back | Elton | Jantjies |
| 22 | Utility Back | Lionel | Mapoe |









October 12th, 2012 at 7:47 am
Have the Spears signed Maku? I haven’t seen official confirmation from the Lions yet and as far as I know the union is actively looking for SR contracts for players with other unions… EXCEPT the Kings.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:42 am
What The Future Would’ve Been If John O’Neill Hadn’t Resigned
by Sean Wilson on October 12th, 2012
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) Chief Executive John O’Neill has resigned. In other words, the man credited for his instrumental work in bringing the conference system into Super Rugby, a fifth Australian franchise into the tournament at the expense of a sixth South African one and for the insane overload of SANZAR rugby fixtures has stepped down.
Will South Africa be sad that O’Neill is gone? No. Will SANZAR adopt a more respectful approach towards the well-being of rugby players? Maybe. Is it a coincidence that he has stepped down shortly after the shocking Lance Armstrong revelations? Yes.
O’Neill had planned to step down near the end of 2013, but there was always a niggling fear that he might change his mind and continue his reign. If he had stayed on as ARU Chief Executive, here is what the future of rugby would have been:
After successive Super Rugby relegation playoffs between the Lions and the Kings, SANZAR amend their television rights agreements and allow South Africa to field six franchises in the tournament on condition that Australia are allowed to field eight. The launch of the 2015 tournament is accompanied by the unveiling of the three new Australian sides, namely the Adelaide Jedis, the Alice Springs Apocalypse and the Hobart Barrel Scrapers.
The practice of awarding log points to teams in the weeks that they experience byes is revisited. In the past, all teams were awarded four log points for a bye, granting them an ‘honorary win’. For the 2015 Super Rugby showpiece, it’s decided that all Australian teams get 5 points for each bye, granting them an ‘honorary bonus point win’. O’Neill is quoted as saying “Since we successfully negotiated a 20% increase in our share of the television rights money, it’s only fair that Australian teams get a 20% increase in log points”.
Due to the convenience of bringing the Australian Super Rugby fixtures a week forward to accommodate the British Lions tour of Australia in 2013 (and after lengthy apologies for getting Kevin de Klerk’s hopes up after sending out a press release that omitted the word ‘British’), SANZAR decide to arrange the 2014 Super Rugby fixtures so that all the Australian conference derbies are completed before mid-January. O’Neill is quoted as saying “We felt it best to complete these matches before pre-season training. This way, the players will be better prepared for the real rugby. Sorry, did I say ‘real’? I meant ‘money-making’. This microphone isn’t on, is it?”
Due to the success of their inclusion in The Rugby Championship, it’s decided to involve Argentina in Super Rugby from 2018. They are not just awarded their own team, but an entire conference, the winner of which is guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals. SANZAR also decide to change the name of Super Rugby to Rugby.
In 2021, it’s decided to increase the worldwide scope of the newly named Tournament Formerly Known As Super Rugby. Another 15 teams are added to the existing 24, and the opening weekend of the 2021 tournament is scheduled for August 2020. The 15 new teams will be in 3 new conferences, namely a Japanese conference, a Pacific Islands conference and an International Conference (comprising of two franchises from the USA, one from Canada, one from Uruguay and the winner of the Six Nations).
Despite the Wallabies losing all three tests in their series against the British Lions and dropping to 11th in the IRB rankings, coach Robbie Deans is awarded a contract extension that lasts until the end of 2023 (international rugby will be interesting that year when the IRB decide to follow FIFA’s example and let the World Cup be co-hosted by Qatar and Narnia). Deans finds himself with a shortage of captaincy candidates for the 2023 World Cup and manages to bring Nathan Sharpe out of retirement.
Close shave, but hopefully some of this will be avoided. Now we can all look forward to the announcement of the new ARU chief executive, where there’s no doubt that the crowd will go mild.
October 12th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Can someone explain to me why these games aren’t being played at the same time? In any major tournament (eg soccer world cup), the last round robin games are always played at the same time, to prevent manipulated results.
Look at it this way, if the Sharks win tonight, then the result at Ellis Park tomorrow is academic for them. In fact the Lions players would be silly not to cruise the match completely. The rugby authorities seem to be incredibly naive about these things.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
Reply to DavidS @ 9:42 am:
EXCELLENT! Deserves it’s own thread.
Reply to il postino @ 4:00 pm: