Reds v Lions: Teams
Australia fly-half Quade Cooper will make his long-awaited return to action when the Reds tackle the Lions on Saturday.
Last Updated: 17/05/12 7:13am
Australia fly-half Quade Cooper will make his long-awaited return to action when the Reds tackle the Lions on Saturday.
The 24-year-old has spent more than six months on the sidelines since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at the World Cup.
However he has made a full recovery to wear the No.10 jersey, with playmaker Ben Lucas shifting to full-back and Luke Morahan dropping to the bench.
Coach Ewen McKenzie has made two further changes following the 42-27 win over the Chiefs, with Greg Holmes and Saia Faingaa replacing Ben Daley and James Hanson in the front-row.
Teenage three-quarter prospect Chris F'sautia is set to make his super Rugby debut off the bench.
The Lions have opted against making any changes to their starting XV despite the bottom club losing 25-3 to fellow strugglers the Blues.
John Mitchell's side have lost nine games on the bounce and face the prospect of finishing the season in last spot.
Reds: 15 Ben Lucas, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Mike Harris, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia; 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Jake Schatz, 5 James Horwill (capt), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 James Slipper, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Adam Wallace-Harrison, 19 Eddie Quirk, 20 Nick Frisby, 21 Chris F'sautia, 22 Luke Morahan.
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Jaco Taute, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Joshua Strauss (c), 7 Grant Hattingh, 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Franco van der Merwe, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 CJ Van der Linde, 18 Cobus Grobbelaar, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Tian Meyer, 21 Ruan Combrinck, 22 James Kamana.
