Warren Whiteley will captain the Golden Lions in one of three changes to the side to face the Free State Cheetahs at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Whiteley has returned from Springbok duty and will take his place at the back of the scrum, with fellow loose forward Derick Minnie also earning a recall to the run-on team. As a result of these changes, Warwick Tecklenburg and Willie Britz will shift to the bench to provide cover.

The only other change comes in the backline, where Howard Mnisi will start at inside centre in place of the injured Stokkies Hanekom, who will miss the rest of the season with a fractured leg.

Marnitz Boshoff will continue at fullback, a role he filled last weekend after Andries Coetzee went down injured during the captain's run.

The Lions will once again take the field in their 125th anniversary kit. A victory against the Cheetahs will be enough to secure a home semi-final.

Golden Lions – 15 Marnitz Boshoff, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Subs: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Willie Britz, 20 Warwick Tecklenburg, 21 Mark Richards.

Photo: Anne Laing/HSM Images