Big Lions milestone for Van Der Merwe
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Wing Edwill van der Merwe will earn his 50th Lions cap when his team take on Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship Round 13 match on Saturday.
Since joining the Lions in 2021 from the Stormers, the 27-year-old flyer has been a prominent figure for the Johannesburg team.
He scored a blistering try during the Lions’ historic 38-14 win over Connacht last weekend at the Galway and would want to celebrate his latest milestone in style as they seek another URC win on the road.
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Head coach Ivan van Rooyen made one change to last week’s successful team.
Conraad van Vuuren comes in for Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who was handed a three-week ban after he was red-carded during last week’s win.
Should the prop complete the World Rugby coaching intervention programme then the sanction will be reduced by one week.
Veteran Ruan Dreyer will be on the bench as cover.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Dryer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 Hanru Sirgel, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Stean Pienaar
Date: Saturday, March 30
Venue: Swansea Stadium, Swansea
Kick-off: 15.05 (15.05 GMT; 17.05 SA time)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Tom Spurrier (Wales) and Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
