The Lions welcome back Springboks Morne van den Berg and Quan Horn for Saturday’s second-round United Rugby Championship clash with the Ospreys at Ellis Park.
Both players featured in last week’s Mandela Challenge Plate match against Australia in Perth and are included on the Lions’ bench.
Coach Ivan van Rooyen has made several changes to his match-day 23 after last week’s thrilling 27-26 victory over defending champions Leinster at Ellis Park.
There is a reshuffle in the loose trio, with Siba Qoma coming in for Batho Hlekani, while JC Pretorius moves into the No 6 jersey. Siba Mahashe drops to the bench.
Henco van Wyk is unavailable after suffering a head knock in the early stages of the victory over Leinster, with Ethan Adams taking his place in the starting XV.
Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie believes there is plenty for his team to improve on despite the impressive opening-round victory.
“There was still a lot we needed to work on this week after last Saturday’s match against Leinster,” said the former Springbok centre.
“We needed to reset because we know the Ospreys will bring a different challenge, but we’ve had a good week of preparation, so we are excited for what’s to come.”
The Mark Jones-coached Ospreys pushed the Sharks hard in their opening match and Fourie expects another physical examination from the Welsh side.
“The Ospreys are a tough side whether you play them at home or away. They have a big pack of forwards; they maul and scrum well.
“Against the Sharks, we saw how that aspect of their game has improved. They never go away; they play for 80 minutes, so we need to be clinical and put them under pressure with and without the ball in hand.”
Kick-off at Ellis Park is at 1.45pm.
Lions team to play Leinster
15 Boeta Chamberlain, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 1 Boan Venter, 2 PJ Botha, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 5 Ruan Delport, 6 JC Pretorius, 7 Siba Qoma, 8 Francke Horne (capt). Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Dylan Sjoblom, 21 Siba Mahashe, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Quan Horn.
