Henco van Wyk returns for Lions in Ospreys URC season finale
Image: BackpagePix
The Lions welcome back star centre Henco van Wyk for Saturday's visit of the Ospreys in their last United Rugby Championship match of the season after he had missed last weekend's loss to the Scarlets due to illness.
There is also a start in the flyhalf jersey for Lubabalo Dobela, who had a fine cameo last weekend, reading the game well and showing great hands in the offload.
His inclusion from the start by coach Ivan van Rooyen on Friday may suggest a more expansive, running game from the Joburg side, with the more conservative Kade Wolhuter making way.
Scrumhalf Nico Steyn continues to cover for injured Springbok Morné van den Berg, and will be responsible for securing quality ball for an exciting Lions backline, where Quan Horn has been in sparkling form at fullback.
Strong ball-carrier and scrummager Juan Schoeman also returns to the starting XV, while flank Ruan Venter will again fill in at lock in the injury-enforced absence of Darrien Landsberg.
Hooker Morné Brandon and loose forward WJ Steenekamp bolster the options on the bench.
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The match will also mark the final one in a Lions jersey for Edwill van der Merwe, who starts on the left wing, and centre Marius Louw.
Speedster Van der Merwe is bound for the Sharks in Durban, while Louw is heading to the Sale Sharks in England. Both players will be hoping for a fitting send-off.
The Lions will be bidding to end their URC campaign on a high after bowing out of playoff contention with a whimper.
They have won only one of their last three home games in the run-in, against Connacht, and will be seeking a consolation victory against an Ospreys side that have often been their bogey team.
The Welsh visitors, who are also out of the playoff picture, will be looking to bounce back from last weekend's 29-10 loss to the Sharks in Durban.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 5.15pm.
Lions Team
15 Quan Horn 14 Richard Kriel 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Bronson Mills 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Lubablo Dobela 9 Nico Steyn 8 Jarod Cairns 7 Renzo du Plessis 6 JC Pretorius 5 Ruan Delport 4 Ruan Venter 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 Jaco Visagie (captain) 1 Juan Schoeman.
Bench: 16 Morné Brandon 17 SJ Kotze 18 RF Schoeman 19 Izan Esterhuizen 20 WJ Steeenkamp 21 Layton Horn 22 Marius Louw 23 Kelly Mpeku.
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With the visitors also losing two players to the sin bin, a total of six yellow cards were flashed in this crunch match. Doctor Booysen, Louis Schreuder, Michael Benadie, and Godlen Masimla were the Kavaliers players shown yellow cards, while Cornel Smit and Junior Bok hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele received cards on the Bulls' side. This coming weekend, the Pumas and Boland kick off the round-five action when they meet from 17:00 in Nelspruit, before the Sharks XV and WP go head-to-head from 19:10 in a match that will hand the winner their first victory this season. On Saturday, the Cheetahs face the Lions from 14:00 in Bloemfontein, while the Bulls and Griquas round up the action on Sunday in their 15:00 kick-off in Pretoria. Griquas 26-17 Hollywoodbets Sharks XV Griquas – Tries: Caleb Abrahams, Dylan Maart, Lourens Oosthuizen, Gurshwin Wehr. Conversions: George Whitehead (3) Sharks XV – Tries: Ceano Everson, Diego Appollis. Conversions: Moyo (2). Penalty goal: Moyo Pumas 35-36 Lions Pumas – Tries: Ruwald van der Merwe, Ross Braude, Darren Adonis, Jan-Henning Campher, Tiaan Pretorius. Conversions: Danrich Visagie (5) Lions – Tries: Kelly Mpeku, Angelo Davids, Renzo du Plessis (2), Dylan Sjoblom. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (4). Penalty goal: Dobela Cheetahs 31-24 Western Province Cheetahs – Tries: Cohen Jasper, Mihlali Mosi, Banie Britz, Juan Venter, Neels Volschenk. Conversions: Jasper (3) WP – Tries: Shilton van Wyk, Jared Africa, Enos Ndiao; Conversions: Jurie Matthee, Tristan Leyds (2). Penalty goal: Matthee Boland Kavaliers 28-20 Bulls Boland – Tries: Sidney Tobias, Donavan Don, Khwezi Mafu, Dayan van der Westhuizen. Conversions: Ashlon Davids (4) Bulls – Tries: Jean Erasmus, Jaco Grobbelaar, Nama Xaba. Conversion: Boeta Chamberlain. Penalty goal: Chamberlain Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
