Vodacom United Rugby Championship action returns this weekend as the Lions travel to Cape Town to take on the unbeaten DHL Stormers in Round 7 of the competition. Ivan van Rooyen’s men will take confidence into the upcoming series of local derbies, with a recent win over neighbors the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria in Round 6.

The Joburg franchise will be boosted by the return of PJ Botha in the hooking position. Botha made his return to rugby in last week’s trip to Newcastle in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Van Rooyen has gone with a settled 23, which features Dylan Sjoblom and Siba Qoma who both showed impressive performances in recent weeks.

Speaking ahead of their trip to the Mother City, Lions assistant coach Jaque Fourie, a man who himself represented both franchises as a player, expects a fast game but at the same time warned against losing structure.

“They thrive off that unstructured type of game,” he explained.

“If you don’t keep the ball and you’re not accurate, they can punish you from anywhere. It’s about keeping the ball, being sharp with handling, and building pressure through phases. You don’t start a game against the Stormers   by throwing the ball around,” he cautioned.

The former Springbok centre, while acknowledging the talent across both teams, was clear on his side’s approach.

“We’re going there with a mission. We want to go and beat the Stormers in Cape Town,” he concluded.

Kick off at the DHL Stadium is at 15:30

Lions 23 vs DHL Stormers

1.           SJ Kotze

2.           PJ Botha

3.           Asenathi Ntlabakanye

4.           Etienne Oosthuizen

5.           Reinhard Nothnagel

6.           Jarod Cairns

7.           Ruan Venter

8.           Francke Horn (c)

9.           Morne van den Berg

10.         Chris Smith

11.         Eduan Keyter

12.         Bronson Mills

13.         Erich Cronje

14.         Kelly Mpeku

15.         Quan Horn

Replacements

16.         Franco Marais

17.         Edward Davids

18.         RF Schoeman

19.         Dylan Sjoblom

20.         Darrien Landsberg

21.         Siba Qoma

22.         Nico Steyn

23.         Richard Kriel