The Lions are working hard behind the scenes to sort out the paperwork issue preventing Vincent and Emmanuel Tshituka from travelling with the team to Dublin to face Leinster, assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher says.

As it stands, the Lions will take on eight-time champions Leinster in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship match at the RDS Arena on Friday evening without the services of the two loose forwards.

The Tshituka brothers were originally named in the 28-man squad that travelled to Dublin for the match against the Irish giants.

However, both Vincent and his younger brother Emmanuel were denied entry into Ireland on Monday afternoon due to a paperwork issue involving their visas. Both players were able to travel with the Lions during their first set of away fixtures in Europe in September last year.

Speaking to media this week, Lions assistant coach Loubscher explained that the team was still hopeful the duo will be able to play on Friday.

“We are dealing with it. We are waiting for confirmation. Behind the scenes, we are working on it and hopefully we can get a good outcome,” Loubscher told TimesLive. “It is something we are dealing with internally, sorting out all the paperwork around their visas. Some things are out of our hands. We must sort out our preparation.

“It will be tough not to have them. They are two quality players. We would love to have them, especially against a team like Leinster.”

Kick-off for Friday’s match is at 9:35pm.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images