The Western Force are taking nothing for granted in their preparations for a clash against the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
While the Lions are yet to taste victory in 2010, Force Coach John Mitchell is wary the South African's are hungry to feast before the season is out.
Three wins in the past four rounds, including a scintillating victory against the Crusaders last weekend, has seen the Force become one of the form teams of the competition however they know the gloss will quickly fade if they're unable to back up their performance against the Lions at Ellis Park.
The Force have acclimatised well in Johannesburg and enjoyed a sprightly session at St David's College on Thursday with the selected 22 man squad set to feature winger Scott Staniforth, who returns from injury, while Wallaby front rower Matt Dunning starts at tighthead prop.
Dunning replaces the injured Tim Fairbrother, who is sidelined with a minor ankle complaint, while hard working and versatile prop Kieran Longbottom comes in as a reserve. Sam Wykes joins the tight five as a starter this week to partner captain Nathan Sharpe at lock while Ben McCalman will be used from the pine.
Cameron Shepherd reverts to fullback allowing Nick Cummins to move to the left wing while Staniforth will be on the right.
"Everyone is very clear on the purpose of their role," Mitchell said.
"It is important to utilise our squad and for everyone to maintain a focus on improving and continuing to bring the right attitude to our performances.
"The Lions will be pretty keen to knock off us. In every fixture they've had at home this season they've gone pretty close and finished within seven points, so they will be a difficult opponent.
"They've got nothing to lose and we've got greater expectations on us so we will have to handle that situation."
Finding the consistency required to be a finals contender is the next challenge for the Force and Shepherd believes the three match tour in South Africa is the ideal opportunity on which to build that platform for seasons ahead.
"We're really expecting the Lions to turn up and give us a tough hit out," Shepherd said.
"We're going to have to be really physical and really switched on if we want to win this game.
"When we turn up with the right attitude and application, like we did against the Crusaders, then you can see that we can match against any team in this competition. We want to continue to improve in that area and everyone is very keen to make a winning start to our tour here in South Africa," said Shepherd.
Western Force
1.Pek Cowan,2.Ben Whittaker,3.Matt Dunning,4.Sam Wykes,5.Nathan Sharpe (c),6.Matt Hodgson,7.David Pocock ,8.Richard Brown,9.Brett Sheehan,10.David Hill,11.Nick Cummins,12.Ryan Cross,13.Mitch Inman,14.Scott Staniforth,15.Cameron Shepherd
Reserves:16.Nathan Charles (FR),17.Kieran Longbottom (FR),18. Tom Hockings,19.Ben McCalman,20.Justin Turner,21.Sam Harris,22.Mark Bartholomeusz
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