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The Lions’ hopes of repeating their 2007 Super 14 double over the Reds and Western Force in Australia took a blow yesterday when Test centre Jaque Fourie was ordered to return to Johannesburg with an eye injury.
Fourie, who leads the Lions with five tries this season, will leave before Friday’s match against the Force at Subiaco Oval.
He was poked in the eye in the April 10 loss to the Blues and had expected to resume in Perth but an examination on Monday wrecked his plans.
“The eye specialist recommended he miss this round and we’re trying right now to get him on a flight,” said Lions manager Mac Hendricks yesterday afternoon.
His departure leaves the 11thplaced Lions without their regular captain and deputy for the second consecutive match of their trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Regular skipper Cobus Grobbelaar left for Johannesburg last week with an ankle injury, as did their player of the year, full-back Louis Ludik.
The Lions beat an undisciplined Reds 31-20 at Brisbane last Saturday but their third win of the season came at the expense of a serious knee injury to prop Heinke van der Merwe.
The Force are also counting the cost of an away win last weekend, with prop Pek Cowan and No. 8 Richard Brown likely to miss Friday’s contest.
Brown sprained his ankle in the one-point win over the Waratahs in Sydney and did not train yesterday.
If Brown remains sidelined, Tamaiti Horua will start at the back of the scrum.
Cowan was on the field yesterday but needs a break after a high workload in recent weeks and is expected to make way for Gareth Hardy in the front row.
Hardy hurt his knee after impressing against the Cheetahs in round two but convinced the Force selection panel he was ready to resume with a good effort in the Sydney club competition at the weekend.
Although the Lions are an attackminded team, Hardy expects them to challenge the Force up front, even minus the formidable Van der Merwe.
“They’ll miss him but you never, ever underestimate a South African scrum,” Hardy said yesterday.
Meanwhile, All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu will play no part in the tabletopping Chiefs’ tour of South Africa. The winger had hoped to travel to Cape Town for Saturday week’s match against the Stormers but will instead stay home after injuring his shoulder.
DAVE HUGHES
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ntentID=137292