Emirates Lions look to maintain their unbeaten record as they head to Stade Jean Bouin to take on Stade Français Paris in Round 3 of the EPCR Challenge Cup on Saturday at 15h00 (SA Time).
Although they won 30-12 in the reverse fixture last month, securing second place at the midway point of their Pool B campaign, this will be Emirates Lions’ first match on the road so far in the competition.
Prediction: Stade de Francais Paris by 12.
Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has named his Springbok trio, Jaco Kriel, Willem Alberts and Andries Coetzee in the starting lineup sevens recruit JC Pretorius will have his first bite of international 15-man rugby for the franchise off the bench alongside former Paarl Boys pupil Rhynardt Rijnsburger.
Jaco Kriel returns to the starting line-up, with Gianni Lombard taking over from Jordan Hendrikse who suffered an ankle niggle last week against Munster.
Loubscher, a former coach at Stade Francais in 2019 understands first-hand what gets them going especially at home.
“They are obviously on a high at the moment with some decent results in their domestic competition. Speaking from experience, they are a different team at home. They are more passionate in front of their home fans combined with providing entertainment through their style of rugby,” he concluded."
Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen: “We said afterwards collectively that we need to get back onto the horse and make it count next week. It’s up to us to change it so it’s important for us to prepare well next week against a very good Stade Francais side.”
Teams:
Stade Francais Paris: 15. Kylan Hamdaoui, 14. Nadir Megdoud, 13. Theo Dachary, 12. Alex Arrate, 11. Stephane Ahmed, 10. Joris Segonds, 9. James Hall, 8. Ryan Chapuis (c), 7. Mathieu Hirigoyen, 6. Julien Ory, 5. Sitaleki Timani, 4. Nathan Huguen, 3. Vincent Koch, 2. Lucas Peyresblanques, 1. Moses Alo Emile. Replacements: 16. Laurent Panis, 17. Vasil Kakovin, 18. Paul Alo Emile, 19. Marcos Kremer, 20. Juan Martin Scelzo, 21. Paolo Odogwu, 22. Arthur Coville, 23. Pienasi Dakuwaqa,
Emirates Lions: 15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Quan Horn, 13. Henco van Wyk, 12. Marius Louw (c), 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Gianni Lombard, 9. Morné van den Berg, 8. Emmanuel Tshituka, 7. Emile van Heerden, 6. Jaco Kriel, 5. Darrien Landsberg, 4. Willem Alberts, 3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2. PJ Botha, 1. JP Smith. Replacements: 16. Michael van Vuuren, 17. Rhynardt Rijnsburger, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Ruhan Straeulis 20. Sibusiso Sangweni, 21. JC Pretorius, 22. Andre Warner, 23. Manuel Rass.
