Influential No.8 Whiteley was ruled out with a calf injury sustained when the Lions beat the Crusaders in last week’s quarter-final.
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That is the only change to the starting line-up announced on Thursday from the side that thumped the Crusaders, though loose-forward Steph de Witt and scrumhalf Dillon Smit come onto the bench.
“One suspects though that the Lions will be just that little bit more fired up if they know a victory against the Highlanders will give them a final against the Chiefs at Ellis Park, while a Hurricanes win earlier tomorrow (kick-off 9.30am) may just deflate the players somewhat.Ackermann says he doubts he’ll watch the first semi-final in Wellington”.
The teams have clashed in New Zealand already this season with the Dunedin-based side winning 34-15 in March. “We were not good at a few fundamentals, we didn’t protect our ball well, we gave away some bad turnovers, we didn’t pick our running lines well”.
While the Lions’ loose forward play has been first-rate this season, Joseph says there are other elements to their game which makes them risky all-round opponents.
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Steph de Witt, 21 Dillon Smit, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Jaco van der Walt.
Joseph acknowledged Whiteley has been a key cog in the Lions’ compelling season but noted Ackermann has also been an impressive performer, albeit mostly off the bench.
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Coach Jamie Joseph has added Marty Banks (flyhalf), Craig Millar (prop), Greg Pleasants-Tate (hooker), Joe Wheeler (lock) and James Lentjies (flanker) to their travelling squad for the trip to Johannesburg.
