Springboks-capped fly-half Curwin Bosch will start the game wearing the number 10.

No.8 Phepsi Buthelezi will wear the armband upon his return to the side after missing their last outing against Western Province.

Khwesi Mona and Khutha Mchunu will have Fez Mbatha in between them in the front row.

Ruben van Heerden and Hyron will start for the side in the second row.

James Venter will pair up with Thembelani Bholi and the previously mentioned Buthelezi in the back row.

21-year-old Jaden Hendrikse will play at scrum-half beside fly-half Bosch.

Marius Louw and Jeremy Ward will make up the midfield pairing for the side with a back three of Thaakir Abrahams, Werner Kok and Manie Libbok.

Substitutes include Ntuthuko Mchunu and former Ulster player Wiehahn Herbst.

The game will be played at Ellis Park in Johannesburg and will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Click here to see the British and Irish Lions side that will play the Sharks.

Sharks side v Lions

Backs

15. Manie Libbok
14. Werner Kok
13. Jeremy Ward
12. Marius Louw
11. Thaakir Abrahams
10. Curwin Bosch
9. Jaden Hendrikse

Forwards

1. Khwezi Mona
2. Fez Mbatha
3. Khutha Mchunu
4. Ruben van Heerden
5. Hyron Andrews
6. James Venter
7. Thembelani Bholi
8. Phepsi Buthelezi C

Replacements:

16. Kerron van Vuuren
17. Ntuthuko Mchunu
18. Wiehahn Herbst
19. JJ van der Mescht
20. Reniel Hugo
21. Dylan Richardson
22. Grant Williams
23. Anthony Volmink.

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Click here for the Lions side, which now includes Justin Tipuric and Tadhg Furlong in the starting XV.

Head Coach Jamie Joseph has named a strong side for his side’s first test since their Rugby World Cup 2019 quarter-final loss to South Africa.

Michael Leitch captains the side as he did for their defeat to South Africa and will start at blindside flanker.

His opposite for their most recent test, Pieter Labuschagne, will don the number 7 shirt for the side.

10 players in total who started the Brave Blossoms’ last game will start at Murrayfield.

Keita Inagaki and Koo Ji-Won start on either side of hooker Atsushi Sakate, who replaces the multi-faceted Shota Horie.

Wimpie Wan Der Walt and James Moore are in the second row with Amanaki Mafi in the number eight position.

30-year-old Kaito Shigeno and Yu Tamura fill the scrum-half and fly-half positions.

Centres Ryoto Nakamura and Timothy Lafaele occupy the midfield while 22-year-old Siosaia Fifita gets the nod at 11 alongside Kataro Matsushima and fullback Ryohei Yamanaka.

Super Rugby Aotearoa Rookie of the Year Kazuki Himeno is on the bench with Asaeli Ai Valu and others.

Japan Team To Face British and Irish Lions:

Backs

15. Ryohei Yamanaka (Kobelco Steelers)

14. Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont Auvergne)

13. Timothy Lafaele (Kobelco Steelers)

12. Ryoto Nakamura (Suntory Sungoliath)

11. Siosaia Fifita (Kintetsu Liners)

10. Yu Tamura (Canon Eagles)

9. Kaito Shigeno (Toyota Verblitz)

Forwards

1. Keita Inagaki (Panasonic Wild Knights)

2. Atsushi Sakate (Panasonic Wild Knights)

3. Ji-won Koo (Honda Heat)

4. Wimpie van der Walt (NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes)

5. James Moore (Munakata Sanix Blues)

6. Michael Leitch C (Toshiba Brave Lupus)

7. Pieter Labuschagne (Kubota Spears)

8. Amanaki Mafi (Canon Eagles)

Replacements

16. Kosuke Horikoshi (Suntory Sungoliath)

17. Craig Millar (Panasonic Wild Knights)

18. Asaeli Ai Valu (Panasonic Wild Knights)

19. Jack Cornelsen (Panasonic Wild Knights)

20. Kazuki Himeno (Highlanders)

21. Tevita Tatafu (Suntory Sungoliath)

22. Naoto Saito (Suntory Sungoliath)

23. Rikiya Matsuda (Panasonic Wild Knights)

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The Crusaders moved to 28 points in the table and no one can catch them. They are six points ahead of the Auckland Blues, in fact the Crusaders will face the Blues in their final game a week from today. Wellington are in third with 21 points. Crusaders have now won 10 Super Rugby titles and are now the most successful side in the competition.

It was a frantic game from start to finish. Shannon Frizell scored a try after 2 minutes after the Highlanders turned the ball over. Jona Nareki ran 80m untouched then to grab the Highlanders second try minutes later. Richie Mo’unga contributed all of the Crusaders points in the opening half with a converted try and and two penalties to leave his side trailing just four points, 17-13 at the break.

The Highlanders extended their lead on the resumption with Michael Collins scoring a try. This was to make it 22-13 with 55 minutes played. However, George Bridge then pounced twice to give the Crusaders the lead, 25-22. The game was all but over then when Braydon Ennor crossed the line for a try with five minutes remaining. Crusaders coach Scott Robertson was thrilled with the win. He said, “We were on the ropes for a lot of the game, but there were just some moments where key guys stood up,”.

He continued, “That performance from the Highlanders did justice to the competition. It showed how much they cared, how much we cared… and how tough it is. It had everything.”

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ACT Brumbies, have been given the go ahead to allow up to 1,500 spectators at their Canberra Stadium when action resumes. The Brumbies will host Melbourne Rebels on July 4th, which will be the opening weekend of the Super Rugby Australia competition. The Chief Executive Officer at Brumbies Rugby, Phil Thomson said, “We’re really happy that we will be able to have some of our members at our first game”. He said he was “hopeful” to be able have more members and fans at games throughout the season.

The Canberra Times report that if the crowd comeback is a success ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has said there will be a further easing of restrictions. This would come into place at the end of July/early August. The easing of restrictions would lead to a 6,000 attendance which is around 25% of Canberra’s Stadium capacity. Officials from the Brumbies and Canberra Raiders, who shared the stadium, met on Friday to discuss fan access, stadium configuration and how to manage attendance numbers. However, some of the details are still to be sorted through. The Canberra Times reporting that the entire western side of the stadium will be a “clean zone” for the players.

The Brumbies have opened a ballot for the 1500 tickets for the game. This will see a mix of fans and corporate backers filling the seats. The Raiders will announce their plans later next week once plans are evaluated.

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The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Aherne said that the country will move level 1 restrictions from midnight after the country reported no new coronavirus cases for 17 days. New Zealand and Australia have both set up domestic tournaments featuring Super Rugby sides. The Highlanders will play the Chiefs on Saturday evening in Dunedin.

There will be no restrictions on crowd size for the first weekend of games. Games will takes place at Otago Regional Stadium on Saturday in Dunedin and Eden Park on Sunday. In addition, Beauden Barrett is expected to make his debut for the Auckland Blues. In fact a side who Dan Carter signed for earlier last week. Barrett will come up against his former team the Wellington Hurricanes which he spent from 2011 to 2019 with them. Barrett has played over 80 times for New Zealand.

In other rugby news RTE Sport report that the Pro14 is expected to be completed behind closed doors. Ulster rugby announced details on their website confirming this. They said they have submitted plans to the NI Executive for a phased return to training at the end of June. The view of these plans are to enable the squad to train together. This is before they participate in closed doors matches at the Aviva Stadium which have been put forward by the IRFU. These games are set to start on the weekend of August 22nd.

Furthermore, Ulster have also announced details regarding season ticket holders and those who bought tickets for Pro14 fixtures. They said, “Season Ticket holders will be entitled to claim an account credit of 20% of the value of their Season Ticket whilst purchasers of tickets to individual matches will be able to claim a full refund. Game Pass holders – Ulster Rugby’s Half Season Ticket – will be entitled to claim a 50% account credit. All claims must be made to the club by Tuesday 30 June”.

John Petrie CEO of Ulster Rugby said, “We would also like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our supporters – and in particular our dedicated Season Ticket holders – who have shown great patience and understanding as we continue to work through what is in no doubt the most difficult situation we are likely to face as an organisation. It is heartening to see how they have chosen to stand up and support us at this time.”

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The tournament will begin on June 13th after getting approval from the relevant authorities that it can go ahead. It will feature the country’s five Super rugby sides in a mini domestic series. The games will be played behind closed doors. New Zealand’s head of profesional rugby Chris Lendrum said “Paying rugby fans, players and coaches want to see a fair contest,”. He continued, “Replacing a player after 20 minutes strikes the right balance.”

Furthermore, rules have also been changed at the breakdown. Rules will now see both ball carriers to play the ball and tacklers to move away quicker. Stuff.co.nz say that the red card will work that when a player is sent from the field. The affected team has to allow 20 minutes before making a replacement. They state “The red carded player can’t return and will still face a judical process”.

Another new rule in the new mini league named Super Rugby Aotearoa is “golden point”. This will basically determine a winner if scores are tied after 80 minutes. The first team to score a drop goal, penalty goal or try will be deemed the winner. The period will 10 added minutes extra time. Mr Lendrum said, “The first team to score – by drop goal, penalty goal, or try – during a 10-minute period of extra time will win the game and remove the prospect of “feeling a little empty”.

He said he wanted to make the competition look and feel different. Mr Lendrum also said that there was great support from all the clubs,coaches, players and referees to make the Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament faster and more exciting than ever before.

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