Tom Curry will face-off against teammates Faf de Klerk & Coenie Oosthuizen when the Lions take on South Africa ‘A’ at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday 14 July (kick off 7pm BST).
Tour captain Conor Murray (Munster, Ireland) is named skipper of a starting XV which has 12 changes to the team that defeated Cell C Sharks 31-71 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, with Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) and Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) the only players retained.
Watson shifts from right wing to fullback with Harris moving to 13 where he is joined in midfield by Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland). Biggar will again start at fly-half.
The game against South Africa ‘A’ will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports and is the fourth match in an eight-game Series culminating in the three Tests against World Champions, the Springboks.
“We’re pleased to have arrived in Cape Town as we near the halfway stage of the Series,” said Gatland.
“Wednesday’s game against South Africa ‘A’ will be our toughest encounter since we arrived here and we’re looking forward to it. We expect them to be physical in the contact area and look to test us at scrum time.”
“I think we’ve benefitted from playing at altitude in the first three games. While the boys have felt it in their lungs, they’ll be all the better for it now we’re at sea level.
“As we move towards the business end of the Tour, it’s pleasing to see so many players putting in some stand-out performances. As coaches we want the players to make Test selection as hard as possible and that’s we’re seeing.”
Full article via British & Irish Lions website.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber named 18 Rugby World Cup winners in a strong South Africa ‘A’ team captained by Lukhanyo Am for their clash with the British & Irish Lions in a Castle Lager Lions Series match at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.
Uncapped Joseph Dweba (hooker) and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (lock) were also among the 25 named – including 10 replacements from which the final eight will be confirmed closer to kick off.
The starting XV features five players who started in the Springboks’ Test against Georgia a little over two weeks ago while Morne Steyn, who kicked the penalty goal to win a series against the Lions 12 years ago, makes his reacquaintance with the famous red jersey.
“We’re pleased to be able to name a quality team with a number of experienced players despite the challenges in the last week, which included the entire squad being confined to their rooms as part of the team’s preventative self-isolation measures,” said Nienaber.
“We may have lost our captain Siya (Kolisi), but there is a good leadership core within this group with the likes of Morné, Willie (le Roux), Eben (Etzebeth), Trevor (Nyakane) and Steven (Kitshoff), among others, whose experience will be invaluable in a match against a quality British & Irish Lions outfit.
Teams:
British & Irish Lions
15. Anthony Watson
14. Louis Rees-Zammit
13. Chris Harris
12. Bundee Aki
11. Josh Adams
10. Dan Biggar
9. Conor Murray (C)
1. Wyn Jones
2. Ken Owens
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Maro Itoje
5. Iain Henderson
6. Josh Navidi
7. Tom Curry
8 .Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Mako Vunipola
18. Zander Fagerson
19. Adam Beard
20. Tadhg Beirne
21. Sam Simmonds
22. Gareth Davies
23. Elliot Daly
South Africa ‘A’
15. Willie le Roux
14. Cheslin Kolbe
13. Lukhanyo Am (C)
12. Damian de Allende
11. Sbu Nkosi
10. Morné Steyn
9. Faf de Klerk
8. Jasper Wiese
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit
6. Marco van Staden
5. Franco Mostert
4. Eben Etzebeth
3. Trevor Nyakane
2. Joseph Dweba
1 . Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:
16. Malcolm Marx
17. Coenie Oosthuizen
18. Vincent Koch
19. Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
20. Rynhardt Elstadt
21. Herschel Jantjies
22. Jesse Kriel
23. Damian Willemse
24. Kwagga Smith
25. Elton Jantjies
