Lions unveil their best for Stormers clash
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has revealed his team for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship showdown against the Stormers in Cape Town.
The matchday squad features a host of players who were rested last weekend while the team was in England for their Challenge Cup fixture against Newcastle.
Springboks Quan Horn, Morne van den Berg, Ruan Venter and Asenathi Ntlabakanye are the headliners, while hooker PJ starts in the No.2 jersey after making his return from injury last week.
Erich Cronje gets a chance at outside centre in the place of Henco van Wyk.
Meanwhile, Siba Qoma and Dylan Sjoblom feature on the bench after impressive performance against Newcastle.
It means the Lions will enter the match with a six-two split between backs and forwards on the bench.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Richard Kriel.
Date: Saturday, December 20
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 15.30 (13.30 GMT)
Referee: Hanru van Rooyen (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Stephan Geldenhuys (South Africa)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
