Coach Ivan van Rooyen has bolstered the Lions 23 with Springbok muscle to face Cardiff in Wales on Friday night in the opening match of their two-week Vodacom URC tour.
The Pride are boosted by the return of blindside flanker Ruan Venter and fullback Quan Horn, with both selected in the starting XV for the round 13 clash at Arms Park. Next up is a trip to defending champions Glasgow Warriors, currently in second place.
Also back in the mix is explosive centre Henco van Wyk, who is in line to make an impact off the bench.
Van Rooyen, meanwhile, has opted for JC Pretorius in the No 6 jersey, who missed the defeat to the Sharks last time out due to a niggle.
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Nico Steyn starts at scrumhalf for the injured Morne van den Berg (finger) while replacement halfback Layton Horn is set to make his URC debut.
The Lions beat Cardiff 34-13 in Johannesburg last season and 31-18 at the Arms Park in 2022. Speaking earlier this week, assistant coach Barend Pieterse acknowledged the fight for a playoff spot is intensifying with 15 teams in the race with six rounds left of the league phase.
“We really want to start this tour well, he said. “The aim is to get as many points as possible. As it stands the log is very close. Everything is in our hands at the moment.
“The return of [Venter, Horn and Van Wyk] gives the squad confidence. All of them have been good for us during the season but in saying that, the players who filled in for them while they were injured did very well.”
LIONS – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 JC Pretorius, 5, Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman.Bench: 16 Franco Marais, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Jarod Cairns, 23 Henco van Wyk.
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
