Lions welcome ‘Bone Collector’ back for Ulster clash

The Lions have announced the return of Willem ‘The Bone Collector’ Alberts to the starting XV as they take on Irish giants Ulster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 2pm).

The experienced Springbok returns to the squad after a lengthy time on the sidelines and combines with captain Reinhard Nothnagel in the lock position.

Other changes see Jaco Visagie and Emmanuel Tshituka start at hooker and flank respectively in rotational changes with PJ Botha and Sibusiso Sangweni.

Amongst the backs, speedster Edwill van der Merwe returns on the wing after serving his mandatory concussion protocol post his team’s second tour match against Cardiff two weeks ago.

‘A challenging encounter’

Skipper Nothnagel cautions that in this competition, one can never underestimate the opposition – such is the quality of rugby being played currently.

“Ulster is a top side and have a good track record in the competition. It will certainly be a challenging encounter for us. In saying that, they are a team who tour very well so that’s something we are taking into consideration as well,” said Nothnagel.

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“As a team we are quite confident especially coming off what we believe was a successful tour. One of the biggest learnings for us as a team is that you must expect anything from any team in this campaign,” the skipper added.

“We look forward to playing at the Park again in front of our home fans on Saturday for what is going to a great day of rugby.”

Lions team

Andries Coetzee, Edwill van der Merwe, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Quan Horn, Gianni Lombard, Sanele Nohamba, Francke Horn, Ruan Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka, Reinhard Nothnagel, Willem Alberts, Ruan Dreyer, Jaco Visagie, JP Smith

Bench: PJ Botha, Sti Sithole, Ruan Smith, Pieter Jansen van Vuren, Sibusiso Sangweni, Morne van den Berg, Jordan Hendrikse, Zander du Plessis