Bok speedster captains Lions, Asenathi Ntlabakanye included for Currie Cup final

Horn takes the captain's armband from injured hooker PJ Botha. Franco Marais has been drafted into the starting lineup to replace Botha while Morne Brandon stays on the bench.

There's more excitement among the replacements with Junior Springbok livewire Hashim Pead set for an appearance at scrumhalf.

Otherwise, the matchday 23 is the same as the one who walloped the spirited Boland Cavaliers 67-19 in the semifinal Johannesburg last week.

Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi spoke openly about the inclusion of Springbok prop Ntlabakanye, who is facing doping charges.

"He has been formally charged, but he has not been suspended, so in the interim, he's a contracted player for the Lions," said Nkosi.

"He must play until his hearing in December. He has taken a couple of weeks to come to terms with what has happened and put together his own case he's going to present.

"Emotionally, he's comfortable. In fact, he's the vice-captain this weekend.

"It's probably good to say that on behalf of the chairman and the CEO, there's a lot of backing for him. The cards will fall whichever way they'll fall, and we're standing behind him.

"He's trained with us for the last two weeks, so we look forward to [seeing him back] and it's right for him to play now with the upcoming United Rugby Championship in mind."

The Lions will be hunting their 12th Currie Cup title.

Lions - 15 Quan Horn (c), 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (vc), 2 Franco Marais, 1 SJ Kotze.

Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Haashim Pead, 22 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Rynhardt Jonker.

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