Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen has named the 26 players who will do duty for him in France for his sides’ first Investec Challenge Cup outing of the 2023/24 season against Perpignan this Sunday.

Earlier this week, the Lions team boss stressed the need to make use of his current squad, meaning implementing a rotation policy to tackle the demands of playing in two topflight international competitions.

“Rotation was always part of the plan for this trip to France. We have the opportunity to tap into the squad we currently have for the next two weeks of Challenge Cup fixtures both away and home.

“To get the performance we want and to potentially win both games (Perpignan and Newscastle Falcons), we will rely on the players at our disposal as we have huge confidence in using the broader squad. We’ve prepared and trained accordingly for the past 2-3 weeks so we’ll be ready to go.”

Emirates Lions 26-man touring squad to Perpignan:

Backs

Andries Coetzee

Erich Cronje

Zander du Plessis

Boldwin Hansen

Jordan Hendrikse

Rynhardt Jonker

Gianni Lombard

Rabz Maxwane

Johan Mulder

Stean Pienaar

Nico Steyn

Forwards

Morne Brandon

Izan Esterhuizen

Corne Fourie

Travis Gordon

Morgan Naude

Etienne Oosthuizen

Heiko Pohlmann

JC Pretorius

Raynard Roets

Sibusiso Sangweni

Hanru Sirgel

Ruan Smith

Ruhan Straeuli

Conrad van Vuuren

Jaco Visagie

Emirates Lions Investec Challenge Cup fixtures:

10 December 2023 – Perpignan vs Emirates Lions

16 December 2023- Emirates Lions vs Newcastle Falcons

13 January 2024- Montpellier vs Emirates Lions

21 January 2024- Emirates Lions vs Ospreys