Lions lose Emmanuel Tshituka for big Bulls clash at Ellis Park

Tshituka felt discomfort in his hamstring during Wednesday's training session, and the injury proved serious enough to keep him out of the line-up for Saturday's match.

Ruan Venter will step in as his replacement, while Izan Esterhuizen moves onto the bench. The shuffle in the pack also means a first Lions start for lock Etienne Oosthuizen in the URC.

Otherwise, coach Ivan van Rooyen has mostly opted for established combinations in the starting lineup and on the replacement bench.

The matchup between the Kriel brothers is set to continue in the backlines after Richard Kriel was named on the wing for the Lions, meaning he will once again square off against brother David Kriel, who will start at centre for the Bulls. The siblings previously faced off in the last round at Loftus, where the Bulls narrowly secured victory by two points.

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Hanru Sirgel, 5 Reinhardt Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith

Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Erich Cronje

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