Lions make key changes for Edinburgh clash after difficult week
by KickOff Rugby · KickOffThe Lions shift their focus to United Rugby Championship action this week, when they will meet the log leaders in the Scottish capital on Friday night.
The Johannesburg-based side have endured a very difficult few days following the tragic passing of teammate Hyron Andrews ahead of their Champions Cup fixture against French giants La Rochelle. Despite the devastating loss of a dear member of the squad, assistant coach Julian Redelinghuys was appreciative of the love and support shown by the international rugby community during the team’s difficult time.
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“To say it was a rough week is probably an understatement, but the support we received from almost everyone was huge,” said Redelinghuys.
“The sorrow everyone felt, and the way it was handled, felt authentic. The way it was handled – locally, abroad, our leadership, coaches and management and players – felt really respectful and that gave us, to a big extent, some closure.”
Looking ahead to Friday night at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, the Lions will welcome the return of their regular skipper, Francke Horn, who missed his side’s Champions Cup opener last weekend. Batho Hlekani gets a start in place of Siba Qoma, who suffered a head knock and is therefore following the required concussion protocols.
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The Lions will go into Friday’s Round 4 fixture with some insight from prop Boan Venter, who spent close to five seasons at Edinburgh before moving back to South Africa to join the Lions. Redelinghuys says the team have been tapping into Venter’s knowledge ahead of the match.
“He’s got some interesting insights – from knowing the players well, the coaches, the field, the environment and the weather well,” said Redelinghuys.
“He’s got some good opinions, which is helping us in our prep. One comment he made is we’ll maybe be playing the first half and come out after half-time, the weather’s totally different.”
“With the Edinburgh-Stormers game [in round two], we saw that the wind was pumping in the first half and in the second half it faded,” he concluded.
Elsewhere, Nico Steyn gets a start at scrumhalf. PJ Botha is set to provide energy from the bench at hooker, alongside Siba Mahashe and Zian Cilliers at scrumhalf.
Kick-off at Hive Stadium is at 20:45 South African time.
Lions team to face Edinburgh
15. Quan Horn, 14. Kelly Mpeku, 13. Henco van Wyk, 12. Bronson Mills, 11. Erich Cronje, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Nico Steyn, 1. Boan Venter, 2. Morne Brandon, 3. Conraad van Vuuren, 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 5. Ruan Delport, 6. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7. Batho Hlekani, 8. Francke Horn (captain).
Replacements: 16. PJ Botha, 17. SJ Kotze, 18. RF Schoeman, 19. Dylan Sjoblom, 20. Siba Mahashe, 21. Zian Cilliers, 22. Richard Kriel, 23. Boeta Chamberlain.