Edwill van der Merwe returns in a rejigged Lions starting XV to face Edinburgh in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at Hive Stadium on Saturday.
The speedster missed out on selection for last week’s season-opening defeat to the DHL Stormers at Ellis Park due to injury. He slots in at left wing for this weekend’s clash in Scotland.
Ruan Venter and Henco van Wyk, both try-scorers from the bench against the Stormers, also crack the nod in the run-on lineup after an immense effort in the latter stages of the game.
Also, on-loan loose forward Hanru Sirgel could make his Lions debut as an impact player, while Rynahrdt Jonker slots in as midfield cover.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match, Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen believes he has the right balance of players on this tour, who have the ability to vary play in conditions a far cry from sunny South Africa.
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“I’m really excited about the group we have going into this 4-week tour. I feel we’ve gone with a dynamic mix of players who can go physical and where needs be, have the option to select players to speed the game up,” he said.
“We are expecting strong line-ups from all four teams we will be facing with a couple of their internationals reporting back for club duty. Pitch conditions are something we are also familiar with in that there will be a combination of grass and artificial surfaces over the next four weeks.”
“We’ve learnt a lot from this past weekend. We played with good intensity and when we were physically dominant in certain parts of the game, we had the makings of a championship team.
“Unfortunately, there were moments where we were inconsistent and that for us is a big work on ahead of Saturday and the rest of the tour,” he concluded.
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