Louw leads Lions hunt in Limerick

Today at 08:01 AM

Veteran centre Marius Louw has been recalled to lead the touring Lions into battle against Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday night.

A fixture that would have been circled as one of their toughest challenges of the season, the Lions are in Limerick for the round 7 clash against the 2022-23 Vodacom URC champions.

In their first match since a 24-6 reverse at Leinster on 26 October, head coach Ivan van Rooyen has made several changes to the starting lineup.

The Lions, currently in 4th place on the log, have had a strong start, with only one loss in their opening five matches – a narrow defeat to Leinster.

Munster, on the other hand, sit in 12th after four losses in six games.

In the pack, props Juan Schoeman and Asenathi Ntlabakanye scrum down alongside PJ Botha, while Ruben Schoeman and Ruan Delport form the lock pairing. The loose trio includes openside flanker Jarod Cairns, debutant WJ Steenkamp, and No 8 Francke Horn.

Morne van den Berg starts at scrumhalf, with Kade Wolhuter at flyhalf. Captain Marius Louw teams up with Henco van Wyk in midfield, while Edwill van der Merwe and Richard Kriel join Quan Horn in an explosive back three.

Lions – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Kade Wolhuter, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 WJ Steenkamp, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Juan Schoeman.
Subs: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 JC Pretorius, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Tapiwa Mafura, 23 Enrich Cronje.

Photo: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans/Gallo Images

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