Francke Horn will make his long-awaited return from injury when the Lions host high-flying Glasgow Warriors in a rescheduled Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The Lions have made a couple of changes to their pack from the side that went down to the Sharks at Ellis Park, but have kept a relatively unchanged backline.
The major change in the pack sees Horn return at No 8 after 10 weeks on the sideline due to an ankle injury. Horn started the season strongly and was a massive part of the Lions’ positive run in the URC last year, before he picked up the injury in November.
Horn’s inclusion sees Emmanuel Tshituka shift to blindside flank, while Ruan Venter will play at lock, giving veteran Willem Alberts a break.
The only change to the backline that faced the Sharks sees Sanele Nohamba rotating into the starting lineup, with Morne van den Berg playing off the bench this weekend.
Other new inclusions on the bench are young front rankers Morne Brandon and Rynhardt Rijnsburger, while veteran Andries Coetzee will inject some experience into the backline in the second half.
Lions – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Ruan Venter, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith. Subs: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Rynhardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee.
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