Limerick’s Murray to lead Lions against South Africa ‘A’

Warren Gatland, has named his Lions team to play South Africa ‘A’ at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday 14 July (kick off 7pm BST).

Tour captain Conor Murray (Munster, Ireland) is named skipper of a starting XV which has 12 changes to the team that defeated Cell C Sharks 31-71 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday evening, with Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) and Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) the only players retained.

Watson shifts from right wing to fullback with Harris moving to 13 where he is joined in midfield by Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland). Biggar will again start at fly-half.

https://twitter.com/lionsofficial/status/1414510582028439557

The game against South Africa ‘A’ will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports and is the fourth match in an eight-game Series culminating in the three Tests against World Champions, the Springboks.

“We’re pleased to have arrived in Cape Town as we near the halfway stage of the Series,” said Gatland.

“Wednesday’s game against South Africa ‘A’ will be our toughest encounter since we arrived here and we’re looking forward to it. We expect them to be physical in the contact area and look to test us at scrum time.”

“I think we’ve benefitted from playing at altitude in the first three games. While the boys have felt it in their lungs, they’ll be all the better for it now we’re at sea level.

“As we move towards the business end of the Tour, it’s pleasing to see so many players putting in some stand-out performances. As coaches we want the players to make Test selection as hard as possible and that’s we’re seeing.”

SOUTH AFRICA ‘A’ v THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

15. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816

14. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales) #846

13. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844

12. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) #837

11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #836

10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821

9. Conor Murray – captain (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790

1. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) #842

2. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829

3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814

4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825

5. Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland) #808

6. Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #854

7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853

8 .Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779

Replacements:

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851

17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787

18. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #848

19. Adam Beard (Ospreys, Wales) #852

20. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838

21. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England) #849

22. Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) #850

23. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

Wednesday 14 July 2021

Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Kick-off: 7pm (BST)