Quan Horn back at fullback as Lions look to turn the screws against Connacht

Quan Horn (pictured centre) will move back to fullback for the Lions in their United Rugby Championship match against Connacht in Galway on Saturday. Picture: Andy Watts/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

Quan Horn (pictured centre) will move back to fullback for the Lions in their United Rugby Championship match against Connacht in Galway on Saturday. Picture: Andy Watts/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix

Published Jan 27, 2023

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Johannesburg - The Lions team tasked with turning the tables on Connacht in a United Rugby Championship match in Galway on Saturday night sees lethal attacker Quan Horn shifting from wing to fullback and Stean Pienaar coming into the side on the wing.

The Lions are in 12th spot on the URC log, one point  below their Irish hosts, and they will be backing themselves to leapfrog Connacht and return home from their tour on a high.

Coach Ivan van Rooyen has kept intact much of the team that beat the Dragons in Newport last week, making three changes and one positional switch.

Horn has proved to be a huge attacking threat and his move to fullback is at the cost of former Springbok  Andries Coetzee, who drops to the bench.

There are two changes to the pack —  openside flank Sibusiso Sangweni is in for flank Jaco Kriel, while PJ Botha takes over from Michael van Vuuren at hooker.

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The Lions have reverted to a five-three split between forwards and backs on the bench. Loose forward JC Pretorius has been left out of the matchday-23 and utility back Manuel Rass has been brought in for backline cover.

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Lions team: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Emmanuel Tshituka, 7 Emile van Heerden, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.

Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Pieter Janse van Vuren, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 Andries Coetzee.

IOL Sport