Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has named the 26 players who will do duty for him in France for his sides’ first Investec Challenge Cup outing of the 2023/24 season against Perpignan this Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Lions team boss stressed the need to make use of his current squad, meaning implementing a rotation policy to tackle the demands of playing in two topflight international competitions.
“Rotation was always part of the plan for this trip to France. We have the opportunity to tap into the squad we currently have for the next two weeks of Challenge Cup fixtures both away and home.
“To get the performance we want and to potentially win both games (Perpignan and Newscastle Falcons), we will rely on the players at our disposal as we have huge confidence in using the broader squad. We've prepared and trained accordingly for the past 2-3 weeks so we'll be ready to go.”
Emirates Lions 26-man touring squad to Perpignan:
Backs
Andries Coetzee
Erich Cronje
Zander du Plessis
Boldwin Hansen
Jordan Hendrikse
Rynhardt Jonker
Gianni Lombard
Rabz Maxwane
Johan Mulder
Stean Pienaar
Nico Steyn
Forwards
Morne Brandon
Izan Esterhuizen
Corne Fourie
Travis Gordon
Morgan Naude
Etienne Oosthuizen
Heiko Pohlmann
JC Pretorius
Raynard Roets
Sibusiso Sangweni
Hanru Sirgel
Ruan Smith
Ruhan Straeuli
Conrad van Vuuren
Jaco Visagie