The underdog story continues: Springbok trio commit future to Lions Rugby

In a flurry of signings, the Johannesburg franchise signed deals with three key members of the club. The Lions confirmed the re-signing of the destructive Venter on Monday. On Tuesday, the rapid Horn extended his contract and then Wednesday saw livewire van den Berg also commit his future to the Lions.

All three will be with the franchise until at least June 2028, which no doubt brings a broad smile to coach Ivan van Rooyen's face.

The trio all made their Springbok debut in the same Test match. They all came off the bench in the second half in the Boks' 64-21 win over Portugal in Bloemfontein in 2024.

Horn would score a try for his efforts, while Venter and van den Berg were industrious. Horn and Venter have yet to be called up to the Springboks again, but have been in the mix at alignment camps.

Meanwhile, the nippy van den Berg has grabbed his opportunity at scrumhalf with both hands. The 28-year-old has earned seven caps for the World Champions and already racked up five tries.

The Lions are currently in Challenge Cup mode, where they face Newcastle this weekend, before returning for United Rugby Championship duty in South Africa next week. 

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