Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has made a solitary change to his starting XV for Saturday’s Vodacom URC clash against the Bulls at Ellis Park.
Jarod Cairns starts at openside flank with Renzo du Plessis dropping down to the bench.
Both Gauteng rivals arrive with clear objectives. The Lions sit seventh on the log and know a home victory would keep them firmly in the playoff race and within reach of sixth-placed Munster.
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The Bulls, buoyed by recent momentum, have climbed to ninth and could leapfrog the Pride with a bonus-point win in Johannesburg.
The Lions will draw confidence from their 43–33 win over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in November, but expect a sterner examination against a visiting side showing renewed form.
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LIONS – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Richard Kriel, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Bench: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Etienne Oosthuizen, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Erich Cronje.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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