Coach Eugene Eloff has opted not to tinker with the Lions side that lost 7-21 to the Blue Bulls at Ellis Park last Saturday in their opening Currie Cup match.

This Saturday the Lions travel to Bloemfontein to take on the Free State Cheetahs, who scraped a narrow 20-16 victory over Griquas in their tournament opener.

With continuity important at the start of a season to help build structures and momentum, Eloff has named an unchanged lineup for the clash at Vodacom Park.

Coach Eugene Eloff admitted that the loss in the first round was not the ideal start to the Currie Cup competition, especially if the Lions are to achieve their season goal of hosting the tournament Final.

"We have no excuses," he told the official Lions website.

"We don't have a young side and a lack of experience anymore. We have a team who can win the Currie Cup and we will make the step up in the next game."

There were question marks over the fitness of wing Rayno Benjamin, and Eloff initially bracketed him with Dusty Noble for the number eleven jersey.

Benjamin suffered a heel injury in last week's match against the Blue Bulls, but the coach revealed that the wing has recovered sufficiently to start the match against the current Currie Cup champions.

"Ryno will play on Saturday," Eloff told this website.

Lions: 15 Earl Rose, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Jaco van Schalkwyk, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Franco van der Merwe, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Gerhard Mostert, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 JC Janse van Rensburg, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Gert Muller, 18 Anton van Zyl, 19 Wilhelm Koch, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Jannie Boshoff, 22 Dusty Noble.

Date: Saturday, June 28
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15-00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Christie du Preez
Touch judges: Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Lourens van der Merwe
Television match official: Michael Cupido

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