•          Willem Alberts returns to the starting XV at lock for the Emirates Lions

•          Edwill van der Merwe returns, Jaco Visagie starts at hooker.

•          Prop Sti Sithole runs on for his 50^th franchise match for the Lions 

The Emirates Lions have announced the return of Willem ‘The Bone Collector’ Alberts to the starting XV as they take on Irish giants Ulster in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday afternoon.

The experienced Springbok returns to the squad after a lengthy time on the sidelines and combines with captain Reinhard Nothnagel in the lock position. Other changes see Jaco Visagie and Emmanuel Tshituka start at hooker and six flank respectively. Amongst the backs, speedster Edwill van der Merwe returns on the wing after serving his mandatory concussion protocol post his team’s second tour match against Cardiff Rugby two weeks ago.

Skipper Nothnagel cautions that in this competition, one can never underestimate the opposition- such is the quality of rugby being played currently. 

“Ulster is a top side and have a good track record in the competition. It will certainly be a challenging encounter for us. In saying that, they are a team who tour very well so that’s something we are taking into consideration as well,” he adds.

 “As a team we are quite confident especially coming off what we believe was a successful tour. One of the biggest learnings for us as a team is that you must expect anything from any team in this campaign.” 

“We look forward to playing at the Park again in front of our home fans on Saturday for what is going to a great day of rugby,” he concluded.

Kick-off is at 14:00.

Emirates Lions 

1.           JP Smith

2.           Jaco Visagie

3.           Ruan Dreyer

4.           Willem Alberts

5.           Reinhard Nothnagel ( c)

6.           Emmanuel Tshituka

7.           Ruan Venter

8.           Francke Horn

9.           Sanele Nohamba

10.         Gianni Lombard

11.         Quan Horn

12.         Marius Louw

13.         Henco van Wyk

14.         Edwill van der Merwe

15.         Andries Coetzee

Replacements

16.         PJ Botha

17.         Sti Sithole

18.         Ruan Smith

19.         Pieter Jansen van Vuren

20.         Sibusiso Sangweni

21.         Morne van den Berg

22.         Jordan Hendrikse

23.         Zander du Plessis

Ulster

TBA