Vincent Tshituka will start at openside flank when the Emirates Lions faces DHL Stormers at Emirates Airline Park in Round 12 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (VURC) on Saturday.

Joining Tshituka from injury is playmaker Jordan Hendrikse, who forms part of the match day 23 and could get an opportunity to feature from the replacements bench.

Emirates Lions mentor Ivan van Rooyen welcomed the return of his two squad members.

“We are pleased to have Vince and Jordan back in the VURC setup. They’ve recovered and trained well over the past few weeks, so we look forward to their involvement once more.”

Van Rooyen lauded his side’s effort against the Vodacom Bulls a week ago, which he believes bodes well come Saturday against an opposition they got the better of before the festive break.

“As a group we felt our overall attitude and intensity went up a notch against the Bulls. It’s the kind of momentum we’re eager to take into Saturday on the back of a positive week of training,” he concluded.

Elsewhere, inside centre Burger Odendaal makes a return to the starting XV after missing the trip to Pretoria last week due to concussion protocols. Seasoned prop forward JP Smith could get an opportunity to make his competition debut.

Kick-off is at 15:00.

Emirates Lions

15. EW Viljoen 14. Stean Pienaar 13. Manuel Rass 12. Burger Odendaal (vc) 11. Edwill van der Merwe. 10. Tiaan Swanepoel 9. Andre Warner 8. Francke Horn 7. Vincent Tshituka 6. Jaco Kriel (c) 5. Ruben Schoeman 4. Ruhan Straeuli 3. Carlu Sadie 2. PJ Botha 1. Ruan Dreyer

Replacements

16. Jaco Visagie 17. JP Smith 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Ruan Venter 20. Emmanuel Tshituka 21. Morne van den Berg 22. Jordan Hendrikse 23. Wandisile Simelane.

 

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