The Lions will be without two of their Springboks for Saturday’s Vodacom URC clash against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.
Prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and scrumhalf Morne van den Berg have remained with the Boks ahead of their final tour match against Wales in Cardiff.
“Hopefully they get a chance to play against Wales this weekend,” said Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse. “They’ll be back on board for the following week’s match [against Benetton in the EPCR Challenge Cup].”
Lions captain Francke Horn said he was bracing for “a massive game” on Saturday. The Bulls beat the Lions 31-19 when the sides last met in Pretoria earlier this year, and the visitors haven’t won there since March 2023.
“I know both teams are hungry for the victory,” he said. “I don’t expect anything less than a big, physical set-piece battle.”
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While the Bulls will be missing several Springboks, they will have Handre Pollard at 10 after the double World Cup winner was released by Rassie Erasmus.
“The Bulls have high-quality players who have played all over the world, so I wouldn’t say it’s a weaker team,” said Horn.
Buoyed by their victory over Ulster, the eighth-placed Lions spent the international break sharpening their approach for a fixture that has slipped away from them in recent seasons.
“We’ve come very close a few times at Loftus,” Horn said. “It’s bragging rights in terms of Gauteng. You get two chances and you want to take them with both hands.”
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Pieterse echoed the importance of the derby and praised the squad’s preparation.
“Everyone came back fresh, ready for these last two weeks before the Bulls game. We felt very good after the match against Ulster, who hadn’t lost a game [until then]. It was a big, big boost for our confidence as a squad.
“The big test in the URC is our local derbies and it has been a long time since we have beaten the Bulls in this competition. If we can control our discipline and be good in that department, I think we give ourselves a very good chance on Saturday.”
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The Lions recently suffered a setback when hooker Jaco Visagie was forced to end his rugby career due to a neck injury. Horn said the team will miss his steady presence.
“Jaco is a very quiet guy, but when he speaks, everybody listens. He’s a well respected guy on the team. We’re definitely going to miss him,” he said.
Pieterse added: “He was set in his ways, but he always was a cool and calm head. He was the one guy you could phone on the morning of the game – if there was an injury or illness, he’d just come in and play the same as if he trained the whole week. There is a lot of respect for him. We all wish him well.”
These boys brought ALL the spice
@vodacom #URC | #ForOurCity#LionsPride
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— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) November 25, 2025
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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