On Saturday the action will get underway at Ellis Park in Johannesburg when the Lions tackle the Sharks.

The Sharks have named a loaded team for the trip to Gauteng and the will feature no less than six Springboks in the starting XV.

The team will be led by the Bok centre, Lukhanyo Am, while the national captain, Siya Kolisi, will not be playing.

Meanwhile, the Springbok outside back, Aphelele Fassi, is upbeat ahead of his debut in the tournament.

“We know the Lions are full of intensity, but with that comes mistakes and one thing we've looked after is being able to capitalise on opportunities that we receive, so to convert four from five opportunities would be great.

“And then playing in the right areas of the field is something we want to achieve.

“We're expecting a very fast game. They're a team that loves to play with a lot of intensity and keep the ball in play and we’re looking forward to the game.”

Kick-off for this game it at 15:00.

At 17:05 it's over to the DHL Stadium in Cape Town where the Stormers will host the Bulls in another north-south derby.

Lions - 15 EW Viljoen, 14, Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruhan Straeuli, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole.

Replacements - 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Matt More, 23, Tiaan Swanepoel.

Sharks - 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (captain), 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Boeta Chamberlain, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Jeandré Labuschagne, 6 James Venter, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Thomas du Toit, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, Ox Nché.

Replacements - 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Henco Venter, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Tito Bonilla, 23 Jeremy Ward.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport