Willem Alberts has been ruled out, but Ruben Schoeman and Reinhard Nothnagel return to the matchday 23 for the Lions to face the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
Schoeman returns to the starting lineup after his three-week suspension for foul play against the Dragons in round 7 of the Vodacom URC. He slots into the second row alongside No 5 Darrien Landsberg.
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Alberts was not considered for the URC clash at Kings Park this week due to a pectorial muscle injury in training. Nothnagel (ankle and wrist) makes his comeback after a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
Marius Louw leads Ivan van Rooyen’s charges as they head to the coast looking to pile the misery on the Sharks, following a narrow defeat to the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium last week.
The Johannesburg outfit are in 12th place on the URC standings, with three wins in seven matches, and are eager to pick up where they left off after a bonus-point win against Newcastle Falcons in the Challenge Cup on 16 December.
Lions – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.
Subs: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Rynhardt Jonker.
Photo: Luca Sighinolfi/INPHO/Shutterstock