The Emirates Lions will kick off the weekend’s action against Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday night at 20h35 (SA Time) at the DAM Health Stadium, Edinburgh.
The South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams will aim high in round four of the competition this weekend as all four teams look to build on their winning momentum on tour in the Northern Hemisphere
The Emirates Lions will be searching for their third victory in a row when they line up against Edinburgh, following away wins against Cardiff and Ospreys.
With the home side boasting a better record on attack and defence, with the Johannesburgers having scored 74 points to Edinburgh’s 93 and conceding three points more than them, they will, however, be bracing themselves for a tough onslaught.
Prediction: Edinburgh is definitely the bookies' favourites, however, if the Emirates Lions are still in contact on the scoreboard the last quarter can be exciting with a surprise on the cards.
Argentine international Emiliano Boffelli returns to Edinburgh Rugby’s starting line-up. The Los Pumas star makes his first Edinburgh appearance of the 22/23 season, having enjoyed an impressive Rugby Championship campaign, notching up 20 points in August’s stunning win against the All Blacks, while playing a key role in Argentina’s summer series victory against Scotland, and is selected on the wing as one of eight changes named by Head Coach Mike Blair.
Matt Currie (outside centre) makes his first start of the season in place of the injured Mark Bennett while Henry Pyrgos gets the nod at scrum-half as Ben Vellacott misses out having picking up a knock in training.
A new front-row combination of Boan Venter (loosehead) and Luan de Bruin (tighthead) start as Glen Young (lock) comes into the second-row.
Luke Crosbie (blindside flanker) and Viliame Mata (number 8) are both fit again and return to the back-row in place of injured duo Jamie Ritchie and Nick Haining.
Edinburgh Rugby will once again celebrate ‘club appreciation night’ which will see the squad pull on the socks of their boyhood/local clubs to recognise the importance of the wider grassroots game, with the players’ chosen clubs listed on the team line-up below.
Head Coach Mike Blair said: “We’re excited to be back home after a two-week tour and the squad are really looking forward to Friday night lights in front of the Edinburgh supporters – it’s always a special experience playing under the lights and we’re anticipating a brilliant atmosphere.
“It’s the second season of celebrating ‘club appreciation night’ and it’s something that definitely adds that extra bit of motivation for the squad. We’re proud to represent our grassroots clubs and it’s important we recognise those local teams that do so much to support us on a weekly basis.
“We’ve made a number of changes to the starting line-up and we’re excited to see guys get their opportunity for what will be a really tough match-up. Emirates Lions come into the game having won two straight in Wales, so we’ll have to be at our very best come kick-off tomorrow night.”
Explosive loose-forward Ruan Venter makes his return to the Emirates Lions starting XV this Friday for his team’s final Vodacom United Rugby Championship tour match against Edinburgh on Friday.
The Junior Springbok is one of two changes, the other being Stean Pienaar who joined the team during the week as a replacement for speedster Edwill van der Merwe. The speedy winger returns to South Africa to complete his concussion protocols after leaving the field in his team’s 18-31 victory against Welsh outfit Cardiff Rugby.
Emirates Lions Backline and Attack Coach Ricardo Loubscher said “It’s been a great start for us, and we are pleased with the momentum,” expressed Loubscher.
“There is a buzz of excitement inside the camp because of overall alignment and in terms of how we want to play the game. Two wins away from home again, is quite pleasing and we want to continue the trend,” he concluded.
Teams:
Edinburgh Rugby: 15. Henry Immelman, 14. Darcy Graham, 13. Matt Currie, 12. James Lang, 11. Emiliano Boffelli, 10. Blair Kinghorn (c), 9. Henry Pyrgos, 8. Viliame Mata, 7. Hamish Watson, 6. Luke Crosbie, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 4. Glen Young, 3. Luan de Bruin, 2. Stuart McInally, 1. Boan Venter. Replacements: 16. Dave Cherry, 17. Pierre Schoeman, 18. WP Nel, 19. Marshall Sykes, 20. Ben Muncaster, 21. Charlie Shiel, 22. Charlie Savala, 23. Chris Dean.
Emirates Lions: 15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Stean Pienaar, 13. Henco van Wyk, 12. Marius Louw, 11. Quan Horn, 10. Gianni Lombard, 9. Sanele Nohamba, 8. Francke Horn, 7. Ruan Venter, 6. Sibusiso Sangweni, 5. Reinhard Nothnagel (c), 4. Pieter Jansen van Vuuren, 3. Ruan Dreyer, 2. PJ Botha, 1. Sithembiso Sithole. Replacements: 16. Jaco Visagie, 17. JP Smith, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Emmanuel Tshituka, 20. Ruhan Straeuli 21. Morne van den Berg, 22. Jordan Hendrikse, 23. Zander du Plessis.
