South African-born props Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel are two of five Scottish internationals who have returned to the Edinburgh starting XV for Saturday’s clash against the Lions at Ellis Park.
Stuart McInally, Grant Gilchrist and Darcy Graham will also bolster Mike Blair’s run-on side after Saturday’s hard-earned win against the Sharks in Durban.
Another SA native Henry Immelman is fit again to reclaim the No 15 jersey from Emiliano Boffelli, who shifts back to left wing, in the only other change to last weekend’s winning side.
Ahead of Saturday’s match in Johannesburg, Blair said: “We’ve spoken a lot this week about backing up Saturday’s win in Durban with another strong performance against Lions.
“We’ve seen a real focus among the squad throughout this week’s training and I know the guys will be desperate to once again show that determination and commitment to the jersey that we saw in spades last weekend.
“It’s going to take another massive 80-minute performance in Johannesburg against a really confident Lions side but we’re up for the challenge and look forward to once again representing the club and city in one of world rugby’s most iconic stadiums.”
Edinburgh – 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Pierce Phillips, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Subs: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Glen Young, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Matt Currie.
