Lions v Waratahs: Teams

Following a dismal performance against the Highlanders last weekend, full-back Earl Rose has been dropped to the Lions bench for Friday's game.

Aside from scoring a converted try that levelled the scores, Rose had a shocker in round 13 and was duly moved to the wing after half an hour, with Louis Ludik reverting to his favoured full-back position.

The Lions won the match 27-22, but Rose's forgettable outing has cost him his place.

Ludik will now start in the number 15 jersey, while Dusty Noble comes in on the wing as Rose's replacement. It will be Noble's first start of the season after being out of favour.

The other two alterations include Jannes Labuschagne, out of the 22, with Franco van der Merwe taking his spot at lock and Ernst Joubert returning to the squad.

In the front row, Lawrence Sephaka shifts to loosehead to accommodate Gert Muller, with JC Janse van Rensburg among the reserves.

Both Jaque Fourie and Cobus Grobbelaar have failed to recover from injuries and will miss the final match of the campaign.

Consistency

Waratahs head coach Chris Hickey has shown faith in the same match day squad that lifted the team to victory against the Sharks.

On the day of the game against the Sharks, Peter Playford moved into the starting XV and Sam Norton-Knight took a place on the bench and the pair have been retained for the final match of the regular season.

Brett Sheehan also takes his place amongst the replacements, having beaten a dangerous tackle charge earlier in the week, and is poised to earn his 50th Super Rugby cap (NSW 45, Queensland 4) if he takes to the field.

"It's always great when you come off a good win to be in a position to field the same side again," said Hickey.

"It's a six-day turnaround this week, which limits your preparation somewhat, so having those combinations in place week-to-week is a real positive."

The Waratahs go into the match with any number of semi-final permutations in front of them, but Hickey says little time has been spent speculating where the team will finish.

"All we can do is go out there with a focus on winning the game - that's all we can control, and the rest will take care of itself," said Hickey.

"The two and a half weeks we've had in South Africa so far have been extremely successful both on and off the field and there's a really good feeling within the camp.

"The Lions are coming off a win, though, they're playing at Ellis Park which is one of the most imposing stadiums in the Rugby world and we know that even though they're out of finals contention they'll be up for a real contest."

The HSBC Waratahs trained in Durban on Wednesday before flying to Johannesburg where they will hold their Captain's Run on Thursday.

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Deon van Rensburg, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Andre Pretorius (c), 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Robert Kruger, 6 Johan van Deventer, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Gert Muller, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Lawrence Sephaka.
Replacements: 16 Hans van Dyk, 17 JC Janse van Rensburg, 18 Ernst Joubert, 19 Todd Clever, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Earl Rose, 22 Walter Venter.

Waratahs: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Peter Playford , 13 Timana Tahu, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Ben Mowen, 5 Will Caldwell, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Chris Thomson, 19 Luke Doherty, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Sam Norton-Knight, 22 Tom Carter.