The Lions have received a significant boost with the return of Springboks Morné van den Berg and Quan Horn for the upcoming clash against the Ospreys at Ellis Park. The pair, recently back from international duty, have been included in the match-day 23 by coach Ivan van Rooyen for this Saturday's game in the second round of the URC.
However, the team will be without the services of Henco van Wyk, who is recovering from a head injury sustained during the team’s narrow victory over Leinster. Ethan Adams, who made his URC debut last week, will be stepping up to start in van Wyk’s absence.
Other changes to the lineup include JC Pretorius and Siba Mahashe swapping roles, with Pretorius moving to the bench. Siba Qoma will fill in the No 7 jersey, taking over from Batho Hlekani.
The Lions are entering this game with a favorable record, having edged out Leinster 27-26 in their opener, while the Ospreys come off a 41-24 defeat to the Sharks in Durban. Adding to the Lions' confidence is their strong home record from last season where they suffered just one loss, and their historical upper hand over the Ospreys, with only one defeat in their last five meetings, the exception being a matchup in 2024 in Swansea.
LIONS Team List:
- Boeta Chamberlain
- Kelly Mpeku
- Ethan Adams
- Richard Kriel
- Erich Cronjé
- Chris Smith
- Nico Steyn
- Francke Horne (c)
- Siba Qoma
- JC Pretorius
- Ruan Delport
- Etienne Oosthuizen
- Sebastian Lombard
- PJ Botha
- Boan Venter
- Morné Brandon
- SJ Kotze
- RF Schoeman
- Hyron Andrews
- Siba Mahashe
- Dylan Sjoblom
- Morné van den Berg
- Quan Horn
OSPREYS Team List:
- Iestyn Hopkins
- Tom Rogers
- Evardi Boshoff
- Keiran Williams
- Keelan Giles (co-capt)
- Dan Edwards
- Kieran Hardy
- Morgan Morse
- Harri Deaves
- Liam Wright (co-capt)
- Ryan Smith
- Huw Sutton
- Rhys Henry
- Efan Daniel
- Gareth Thomas
- Lewis Lloyd
- Cam Jones
- Ben Warren
- Rhys Davies
- Ross Moriarty
- Reuben Morgan-Williams
- Lawson Creighton
- Luke Morgan
