Lions welcome back PJ Botha for mouthwatering URC derby against Stormers

Ivan van Rooyen's men will take confidence into the upcoming series of local derbies, with a recent win over neighbours the Bulls in Pretoria in Round 6.

The Joburg franchise will be boosted by the return of PJ Botha in the hooking position. Botha made his return to rugby in last week's trip to Newcastle in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Van Rooyen has gone with a settled 23, which features Dylan Sjoblom and Siba Qoma, who both showed impressive performances in recent weeks.

Springboks Quan Horn, Morne van den Berg, Ruan Venter and Asenathi Ntlabakanye are the other headliners returning to the squad.

Speaking ahead of their trip to Cape Town, Lions assistant coach Jaque Fourie, a man who himself represented both franchises as a player, expects a fast game but at the same time warned against losing structure.

"They thrive off that unstructured type of game," he told the Lions website.

"If you don't keep the ball and you're not accurate, they can punish you from anywhere. It's about keeping the ball, being sharp with handling, and building pressure through phases. You don't start a game against the Stormers   by throwing the ball around."

The former Springbok centre, while acknowledging the talent across both teams, was clear on his side's approach.

"We're going there with a mission. We want to go and beat the Stormers in Cape Town," he concluded.

Kick off at DHL Stadium in the Mother City is at 15:30.

Lions - 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Eduan Keyter, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.

Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Siba Qoma, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Richard Kriel.

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