The Lions welcome the high-flying Irish side Ulster this Saturday for Round 5 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship hosted at Ellis Park. The home side will take momentum into tomorrow’s fixture after securing a bonus point victory against Scarlets at the same venue last weekend thus securing their first win of the season.

Last week’s hard-fought success however came with one casualty in the form of star poacher JC Pretorius who sustained a knee injury which sees him out of action for a period of time.

Reflecting on last weekend’s 29-18 win, the side’s kicking coach Morne Steyn was pleased with the team’s composure but acknowledged areas for improvement.

“Looking back, I didn’t think it was our best game, but still we got five points. That’s a positive for us. You don’t play great rugby, but still get five points, that’s great for the game coming up.”

Fresh from their win against the Sharks last week, Ulster head coach Richie Murphy and his troops will look to complete a successful tour of South Africa as they prepare to enter the home of the Lions.

Steyn continued…

“Ulster are a quality team. They’ve got great forwards and exciting backs. From nine to 15, almost all of them can kick, so it’s going to be a tough, physical battle. Luckily, we play in Joburg, so hopefully we can tire them a bit and run them around.”

In team news, lock Reinhard Nothnagel, who came off the bench against Scarlets, starts in the number 5 jumper. Last week’s Player of the Match Jarod Cairns replaces the injured JC Pretorius. The only change in the backline is that of inside centre Bronson Mills who gets an opportunity alongside the explosive Henco van Wyk.

Lions 23 vs Ulster

1.           SJ Kotze

2.           Franco Marais

3.           Asenathi Ntlabakanye

4.           Etienne Oosthuizen

5.           Reinhard Nothnagel

6.           Jarod Cairns

7.           Ruan Venter

8.           Francke Horn (c)

9.           Nico Steyn

10.         Chris Smith

11.         Angelo Davids

12.         Bronson Mills

13.         Henco van Wyk

14.         Eduan Keyter

15.         Quan Horn

Replacements

16.         Morne Brandon

17.         RF Schoeman

18.         Conraad van Vuuren

19.         Darrien Landsberg

20.         Renzo du Plessis

21.         Layton Horn

22.         Gianni Lombard

23.         Kelly Mpeku