Boks return as Lions host Ospreys

The 10bet Lions have been boosted by the return of Springboks Morne van den Berg and Quan Horn ahead of their Round 2 Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against Ospreys this Saturday at 10bet Ellis Park.

Both players were in involved in last week's Mandela Challenge Plate match against the Wallabies Down Under and have been included in the squad for the weekend.

Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has tweaked his match 23 after last week's 27-26 victory over defending champions Leinster at 10bet Ellis Park, in a nail-biting battle going beyond the full 80.

An adjusted loose trio sees Siba Qoma come in for bruiser Batho Hlekani. JC Pretorius slots into the No 6 jersey ahead of Siba Mahashe who'll be called upon to provide impact from the bench.

Henco van Wyk is sidelined this week after he suffered a head knock in the opening stages of last week’s opener. Ethan Adams replaces him in the starting XV.

Lions defence guru Jaque Fourie said despite last week’s victory, there were still improvements his side needed to work on ahead of their dual with the Welsh outfit.

“There was still a lot we needed to work on this week after last Saturday’s match against Leinster. We needed to reset because we know Ospreys will bring a different challenge come Saturday but we’ve had a good week of preparations, so we are excited for what’s to come,” said the former Springbok centre.

The Mark Jones coached Ospreys side put up a brave fight against the Durbanites last week and Fourie warns that they are side that don’t easily go away.

“Ospreys are a tough side here at home and when we play them overseas. They have a big pack of forwards; they maul and scrum well - especially against the Sharks where we saw how that aspect of their game has improved. They never go away; they play for 80 minutes so we need to be clinical and put them under pressure with and without ball in hand,” he concluded.

10bet Lions starting XV: 15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje; 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn; 8 Francke Horne (capt), 7 Siba Qoma, 6 JC Pretorius; 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen; 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Boan Venter. Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Dylan Sjoblom, 21 Siba Mahashe, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Quan Horn.

SATURDAY

10bet Lions v Ospreys

10bet Ellis Park, Johannesburg – KO 12.45pm IRE & UK/1.45pm ITA & SA

Referee: Fillipo Russo (FIR, 10th league game)

AR 1: Griffin Colby (SARU) AR 2: Dylen November (SARU)

TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv