Lions plan to prey on in-form Ulster

The Lions welcome the high-flying Irish side Ulster this Saturday for Round 5 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship hosted at Ellis Park. The home side will take momentum into Saturday’s fixture after securing a bonus point victory against Scarlets at the same venue last weekend thus securing their first win of the season.

Last week’s hard-fought success however came with one casualty in the form of star poacher JC Pretorius who sustained a knee injury which sees him out of action.

Reflecting on last weekend’s 29-18 win, the side’s kicking coach Morne Steyn was pleased with the team’s composure but acknowledged areas for improvement.

“Looking back, I didn’t think it was our best game but still we got five points. That’s a positive for us. You don’t play great rugby but still get five points, that’s great for the game coming up.”

Fresh from their win against the Sharks last week, Ulster head coach Richie Murphy and his troops will look to complete a successful tour of South Africa as they prepare to enter the home of the Lions.

Steyn continued: “Ulster are a quality team. They’ve got great forwards and exciting backs. From nine to 15, almost all of them can kick, so it’s going to be a tough, physical battle. Luckily, we play in Joburg, so hopefully we can tire them a bit and run them around.”

In team news, lock Reinhard Nothnagel, who came off the bench against Scarlets, starts in the No 5 jumper. Last week’s Player of the Match Jarod Cairns replaces the injured JC Pretorius. The only change in the backline is that of inside centre Bronson Mills who gets an opportunity alongside the explosive Henco van Wyk.

Lions starting XV: 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 (capt), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns; 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen; 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 Franco Marais, 1 SJ Kotze. Replacements: 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.

SATURDAY

Lions v Ulster Rugby

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

Referee: Ben Connor (WRU, 5th league game)

AR 1: Christopher Allison (SARU) AR 2: JD Jadezweni (SARU)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Live on: SuperSport, Premier Sports, TG4, Flo Rugby & URC.tv