Louw to lead Lions in Stormers duel

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Marius Louw takes the captain’s armband in a new-look midfield for the Lions against the DHL Stormers in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in Cape Town on Saturday.

He will lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Reinhard Nothnagel, who injured his ankle in a defeat to the Sharks last week. Returning to partner Louw is fit-again outside centre Henco van Wyk, who slots back in at 13.

Openside flank Jarod Cairns also cracks the starting XV in what has been a steady rise for the former Paul Roos Gymnasium star through the Lions’ junior ranks. He combines with Ruan Venter, who shifts to No 7, with Emmanuel Tshituka packing down at the back of the scrum.

Elsewhere, Morne van den Berg, Manuel Rass and Morgan Naude return to the match-day 23 as impact players.

Looking to achieve a repeat of last season’s win against the same opposition, Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie says it will take a massive effort by the Joburgers to counter the high-flying Stormers on Saturday.

“It’s a roughly a year ago since we beat them in Cape Town, but they are a different side now not to mention title holders, said Fourie.

“In addition, they’ve picked up good momentum during the season and it’s now for us to put last Friday’s result behind us by channeling a positive approach towards a win on Saturday.”

BY THE NUMBERS: Stormers vs Lions

Photo: @LionsRugbyCo/Twitter

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Devin Hermanus