British and Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland has named his Lions team to face the Springboks for the First Test.
The Lions will face off against the Springboks in their First Test at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday 24th of July, with kick-off at 5 pm BST (British Summer Time).
Team News
Having recovered from a dislocated shoulder in their 28-10 win over Japan at Murrayfield Stadium, Tour captain Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales) will resume his captaincy duties on Saturday after Stuart Hogg was handed the role in their last game.
Jones, will be joined in the second row by Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) who claims his fourth successive Lions Test cap this term.
While Lion’s front row will consist of Wyn Jons (Scarlets, Wales). Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) and Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland).
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) and Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) will partner each other in midfield after the Irishman made his first appearance in last weeks 3-49 win over DHL Stormers after sustaining a hamstring injury.
Warren Gatland Interview
Gatland said in a recent interview;
“In my four Tours as a Lions coach, this was by far the hardest Test selection I have been involved in,”
“We couldn’t have asked for more from the players so far; they’ve all put their hands up and made picking a starting XV incredibly difficult. In truth, we would have been happy with any number of different combinations across the 23, however, we’re very pleased with the side we’ve settled on.
“We know what we’re coming up against on Saturday. It’s going to be an arm wrestle, there’s no doubt about it. We’ll need to front up physically and be ready to go from the first whistle. When we played SA ‘A’ last week we probably took a bit too long to get into the game, something we can’t afford to do that again this weekend.
“We need to make sure we play in the right areas of the field, not give them easy territory and take our chances when they come.
“While the stands will be empty in Cape Town Stadium, we know Lions fans from across the home nations will be cheering us on back home. We’ll do our best to get the win.”
The much-anticipated clash between the two teams is the first of three main Test matches in the Castle Lager Lions Series that will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports.
Alun Wyn Jones completes incredible recovery from dislocated shoulder to captain British and Irish Lions for first Test against South Africa | @Nik_Simon88 https://t.co/Th0K3AaJqj
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) July 21, 2021
SOUTH AFRICA v THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS
15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England)
13. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England)
12. Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland)
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales)
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland)
1. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales)
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England)
5. Alun Wyn Jones – captain (Ospreys, Wales)
6. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England)
7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England)
8.Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland)
Replacements:
16. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales)
17. Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland)
18. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England)
19. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland)
20. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland)
21. Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland)
22. Owen Farrell (Saracens, England)
23. Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales)
