The Emirates Lions will look to continue their form at home against Ulster on Saturday at 12:55 (SA Time). The Emirates Lions’ only defeat in their last five Vodacom URC matches in Johannesburg was when Munster beat them 33-13 in round 15 last year.
Ulster will travel to Johannesburg keen to keep their unbeaten record against the Emirates Lions intact, with the team from Northern Ireland winning all three of their previous encounters against the Gautengers, with their last visit to Emirates Airline Park ending in a 39-37 win.
Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen says he expects an upbeat Ulster side after their victory against defending champions Glasgow Warriors in Round 1.
“It’s important for us to keep the momentum. We were happy with the momentum we took into the recent Currie Cup campaign and it’s important for us to maintain that going into this year’s URC season.
“As a group we are really excited about the upcoming URC. There’s a great vibe and energy within the squad. We have six URC debutants featuring this weekend comprising of a combination new signings and guys from the recent Currie Cup.
“Ultimately, it’s important for us to start well at home this weekend against an Ulster team who beat the defending champions last weekend. We know they’ll arrive ready to go so we’ll be up for it,” he concluded.
Ulster Coach Richie Murphy said: “The lads rolled up their sleeves and, in the end, got the job done against the Glasgow Warriors in Round 1 at home. But we are going to have to learn quickly, because that’s not going to be good enough on most nights. We didn’t play our best rugby by a long way against the Glasgow Warriors.”
Teams
Emirates Lions Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Tapiwa Mafura, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Morgan Naudé. Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Henco van Wyk.
Ulster Rugby: 15 Ethan McIlroy, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Stewart Moore, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 John Cooney,8 Nick Timoney,7 Sean Reffell, 6 Matty Rea, 5 Alan O’Connor (captain), 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick. Replacements: 16 James McCormick, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Corrie Barrett, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 James McNabney, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Mike Lowry, 23 David McCann.