22 October 2026
The 10bet Lions shift their focus to Vodacom United Rugby Championship action this week, where they will meet top leaders in the Scottish capital on Friday at 20:45 SAST. The Johannesburg-based side have endured a very difficult last few days with the tragic passing of teammate Hyron Andrews ahead of their Investec Champions Cup fixture against French giants La Rochelle.
Looking ahead to Friday night at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, the Lions will be pleased with the return of their regular skipper Francke Horn, who missed out on his side’s Champions Cup opener last weekend. Batho Hlekani gets a start in place of Siba Qoma, who suffered a head knock and therefore serves the necessary concussion protocols.
The 10bet Lions will go into Friday’s Round 4 fixture with a little insight courtesy of prop Boan Venter, who spent close to five seasons at Edinburgh before making the move back to South Africa and the Lions. Redelinghuys says they have been tapping into Venter’s insights ahead of tomorrow night.
Elsewhere, Nico Steyn gets a start at scrumhalf. PJ Botha is set to provide energy from the bench at hooker, together with Siba Mahashe and Zian Cilliers (scrumhalf)
10bet Lions 23: 15. Quan Horn, 14. Kelly Mpeku, 13. Henco van Wyk, 12. Bronson Mills, 11. Erich Cronje, 10. Chris Smith, 9. Nico Steyn, 1. Boan Venter, 2. Morne Brandon, 3. Conraad van Vuuren, 4. Etienne Oosthuizen, 5. Ruan Delport, 6. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7. Batho Hlekani, 8. Francke Horne (c). Replacements: 16. PJ Botha, 17. SJ Kotze, 18. RF Schoeman, 19. Dylan Sjoblom, 20. Siba Mahashe, 21. Zian Cilliers, 22. Richard Kriel, 23. Boeta Chamberlain.