Super Rugby preview: Waratahs take on the Lions at Allianz Stadium
Last Updated: 16/05/14 11:28am
Waratahs will aim to keep their perfect home record intact and force their way into play-off contention when they welcome the Lions to the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
Michael Cheika's side have won just once on the road this term but have claimed victory in all five of their matches in Sydney to climb up to eighth in the Super Rugby standings.
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Victory could see the Waratahs elevated as high as third in the table, although the South African franchise will be desperate to arrest the slide which has seen them lose their previous five fixtures.
A sixth successful day in front of their supporters will go a long way in ensuring they build some momentum ahead of two tough away fixtures.
Next week the Waratahs take on the Rebels, who have also taken great pride in their performances at home, before travelling to the Chiefs for a showdown with the reigning champions ahead of the June Tests.
Dropped
Chieka made just one change to the starting line-up that beat the Hurricanes in their previous match with lock Will Skelton taking over from Jacques Potgieter who was dropped to the bench as he is struggling with a leg injury.
"The Lions have been excellent in the scrum," Cheika said on his team's website.
"They've pretty much dominated nearly every opposition that they've come up against, or they've had a really good contest with them, and it's going to be a big battle for our forwards out there."
The Lions head into this contest having fallen inches short of what would have been a one of the best come-from-behind victories of the season.
They bounced back from a 23-0 half-time deficit in their match against the Highlanders and would eventually go down 22-23 in the most controversial of circumstances.
Having had more time to adapt to their new surroundings, Lions coach Johan Ackermann had only to make a few tweaks to his side and on that front he has implemented measures to counter act the threat Folau is likely to pose.
Ackermann opted to move Cortnall Skosan from wing to full-back as the experienced Deon van Rensburg makes his return to the squad while fellow winger JW Jonker was rewarded with a start for his solid second half performance the previous week.
Waratahs: 15 Folau, 14 Carraro, 13 Ashley-Cooper, 12 Beale, 11 Horne, 10 Foley, 9 Phipps, 1 Robinson, 2 Polota-Nau, 3 Ryan, 4 Skelton, 5 Douglas, 6 Dennis, 7 Hooper, 8 Palu.
Replacements: 16 Roach, 17 Tilse, 18 Kepu, 19 Potgieter, 20 Hoiles, 21 McKibbin, 22 Alofa, 23 Naiyaravoro.
Lions: 15 Skosan, 14 Van Rensburg, 13 Mapoe, 12 Watermeyer, 11 Jonker, 10 Boshoff, 9 De Klerk, 1 S van der Merwe, 2 Coetzee, 3 Redelinghuys, 4 Lusaseni, 5 Muller, 6 Kriel, 7 Minnie, 8 Whiteley (capt).
Replacements: 16 A van der Merwe, 17 Fourie, 18 Dreyer, 19 Mathee, 20 Tecklenburg, 21 Cronje, 22 Jantjies, 23 Botha.
You can see Waratahs v Lions live on Sky Sports 2HD from 7:00am on Sunday.
