Coach Ivan van Rooyen has made three changes to the Lions’ starting XV for Saturday’s URC match against unbeaten Ulster at Ellis Park.
In the forwards, Jarod Cairns fills the void left by flanker JC Pretorius, who faces a four-month spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, while lock Reinhard Nothnagel starts after impressing off the bench in last week’s 29-18 win over the Scarlets, with Darrien Landsberg shifting to the replacements.
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In the backline, Richard Kriel drops out of the match 23 for Bronson Mills, who starts at inside centre.
Nico Steyn retains the No 9 jersey as Morne van den Berg recovers fully from a minor injury before joining the Springbok squad.
Gianni Lombard comes on to the bench as flyhalf cover, replacing the injured Lubabalo Dobela.
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The Lions’ first victory of the season lifted spirits after a difficult start to their campaign, but they face a formidable challenge against an Ulster side that beat the Sharks 34-26 in Durban last week.
The Joburg-based outfit are still without several key players, including Juan Schoeman, PJ Botha, Ruan Delport, Siba Qoma, Jaco Visagie and Rynhardt Jonker.
LIONS – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Franco Marais, 1 SJ Kotze.
Bench: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Kelly Mpeku.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images
