Lions call on Quan Horn and Boan Venter for All Blacks clash

Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has released Quan Horn and Boan Venter to strengthen the Lions for Tuesday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry meeting with the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

The Johannesburg-based side have selected a strong starting XV for the fixture, which kicks off at 19:00 on Tuesday.

Horn will start at full-back after being made available by the Springboks, while Venter is included among the replacements. The Lions have also named Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Hyron Andrews and Boeta Chamberlain on the bench, with all three newcomers in line to make an impact during the match.

Francke Horn will captain the Lions from the number eight position. He will form the back row alongside Batho Hlekani at openside flanker and Siba Mahashe at blindside flanker.

There is also a return from injury for Henco van Wyk, who starts at outside centre. He lines up in midfield with Richard Kriel, while Kelly Mpeku and Erich Cronje occupy the wing positions.

Chris Smith has been selected at fly-half, with Nico Steyn starting at scrum-half. The forward pack includes Ruan Delport and Etienne Oosthuizen in the second row, with Sebastian Lombard at tight-head prop and SJ Kotze at loose-head prop.

PJ Botha will wear the number two jersey.

The Lions’ bench is completed by Morne Brandon, RF Schoeman, JC Pretorius and Haashim Pead, in addition to Venter, Andrews, Notshe and Chamberlain.

The match at Ellis Park brings the Lions up against New Zealand in a fixture billed as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. The visitors will face a Lions side that has been reinforced by players released from Springbok duty and includes a mixture of established campaigners and less experienced options.

The full Lions line-up is:

15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.

Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Boan Venter, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.