In-form Lions stick to tried and trusted for Dragons clash

The Lions bagged a full haul of 10 points from their first two home matches of the season against Ulster and Edinburgh and will be hoping to make it three from three on the first match of their overseas tour.

One blow for the Gauteng outfit is that regular flyhalf Kade Wolhuter has picked up an injury, with Nick Steyn taking his place at No 10.

Since transferring to Gauteng from Western Province last year, Wolhuter has thrived within the Lions' system whenever given the chance to exhibit his attacking prowess.

This was evident in the Lions' 55-21 victory over Edinburgh at Ellis Park over the weekend, where Wolhuter excelled in the first half before limping off in the 33rd minute.

"It's actually sad to have him injured now, but it has opened the door for someone else to come in," said Lions assistant coach Julian Redelinghuys.

The rest of the Lions' potent backline remains in place, however, with the likes of Edwill van der Merwe, Quan Horn, Morne van den Berg and Rabz Maxwane set to pose a serious threat to the Dragons' defence.

Up front, Francke Horn captains the side from the No 8 position while Franco Marais is again preferred at hooker, with PJ Botha set to start from the bench.

Meanwhile, tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye will be celebrating his 50th international cap for the franchise.

Sunday's match kicks off at 15:30.

Lions - 15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Nico Steyn, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Juan Schoeman.

Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Heiko Pohlmann, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Sanele Nohamba, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Henco van Wyk.

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