Edwill van der Merwe will make his Lions debut against Cardiff Rugby in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at Ellis Park on Sunday.
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Head coach Ivan van Rooyen has put out a strong match-day 23 with Van der Merwe – who recently joined the Lions from the Stormers – deployed on the right wing, while there are also timely returns for Willem Alberts and Tiaan Swanepoel from long-term injuries.
The only other change to the side is the inclusion of Fred Zeilinga at flyhalf, with Matt More coming in as backline cover.
“It’s good to be back home. We’ve put in solid training sessions on and off the field over the past three weeks and the guys are looking in great shape and quite excited to play at home,” Van Rooyen said.
“Our focus this weekend is to achieve a positive result by executing on the plans we have set out for ourselves as a squad and, most importantly, improving on the gains we achieved overseas in certain areas,” he added.
Van Rooyen was happy with the progress of injured squad members upon the team’s return from the UK.
“We are extremely pleased to have a majority-fit squad to select from for first home fixture. Willem and Tiaan missed out on the first four games of our northern-hemisphere campaign, so they’ll be raring to go should they get an opportunity,” he explained.
With a maximum of 2,000 fans allowed back at rugby stadiums in South Africa, Van Rooyen believes the team will receive an added boost.
“The fact that we’ll have a few fans back is a bonus. It may not be a large number, but it goes a very long way in creating an atmosphere at the stadium and serves as added motivation for the players,” he concluded.
Emirates Lions – 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal (c), 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie 2, Gerrit Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole.
Subs: 16 Pieter Jacobus Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Matt More, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel.
