Dobela starts for Lions as duo have final outing

Departing players Edwill van der Merwe and Marius Louw will run out for their final outing in an Emirates Lions jersey as they take on the Ospreys in their final Vodacom United Rugby Championship match of the season on Saturday.

Van der Merwe departs for the Hollywoodbets Sharks at the end of the season, while Louw has signed a contract with English club Sale Sharks for the next few seasons.

Both players’ departures further exacerbates the situation at the Johannesburg team that has failed to make the top eight of the URC in all four versions since its inception.

On the positive side, impressive young flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela will get his first start at 10 for the Lions in the game, while Henco van Wyk returns from injury to take his place in the midfield.

Prop Juan Schoeman also returns from an achilles injury to the starting line-up to bolster the scrum while hooker Morne Brandon and loose forward WJ Steenkamp come back to feature on the bench for the match.

Both sides cannot qualify for the top eight of the URC and the match is more of academic significance.

EMIRATES LIONS: Quan Horn; Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk, Bronson Mills, Edwill van der Merwe; Lubabalo Dobela, Nico Steyn; Jarod Cairns, Renzo du Plessis, JC Pretorius, Ruan Delport, Ruan Venter, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Jaco Visagie (captain), Juan Schoeman.

REPLACEMENTS: Morne Brandon, SJ Kotze, RF Schoeman, Izan Esterhuizen, WJ Steenkamp, Layton Horn, Marius Louw, Kelly Mpeku.