Marius Louw takes the armband for Lions against Munster

Lions centre Marius Louw has retaken the captaincy reins as they prepare for their massive United Rugby Championship clash against Munster at Thomond Park in Limerick on Saturday night (kick-off 9:35am).

Louw missed the Lions first game of the season, but played in the next four, three off the bench, with his only previous start against Zebre in Parma last month, and during that time eighthman Francke Horn has led the team.

Horn is still in the starting lineup, but with Louw the franchise captain, it is likely he will be starting more of the team’s games going forward from here.

Former Bulls utility forward WJ Steenkamp, who joined the Lions in the off season, will make his debut for them at flank, and teams up with Horn and Jarod Cairns in a powerful looking loose trio.

Kade Wolhuter continues his run as starting flyhalf, Louw links up with Henco van Wyk in a blockbuster midfield, and Quan Horn will continue his duty from fullback.

Reinhard Nothnagel and JC Pretorius will look to make a big impact when they emerge off the bench during the game, while an exciting trio of back replacements, in Sanele Nohamba, Tapiwa Mafura and Erich Cronje, will also be eager to make their mark.

Bigger challenge

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen is expecting a bigger challenge from struggling Munster, who sit 13^th on the table and will be desperate for a win after three straight losses, than what they faced in their previous game against Leinster in Dublin.

“We know that it’s going to be really tough; it’s probably going to be the toughest game of the year for us so far. They would have felt unlucky to have lost that game against the All Blacks XV earlier this month,” said Van Rooyen.

“We know that Munster are a quality team and are exceptional, especially in Limerick. They’ve shown most recently against the All Blacks XV what kind of quality they have.

“We go into Saturday with a fair bit of confidence but also the reality of what lies ahead. We need to be more clinical and disciplined in what we want to do and how we want to do it.

“That being said, there’s real excitement about the game after the two weeks of preparation we’ve had, so we are looking forward to it.”

Munster has also had a shake up in the coaching department, after head coach Graham Rowntree left at the end of last month by mutual consent, while head of rugby operations Ian Costello has taken over as interim coach.

“The change in their management setup I’m sure will galvanise and bring their team together as they are a very proud, traditional European team,” said Van Rooyen.

Lions XV

Quan Horn, Richard Kriel, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw (c), Edwill van der Merwe, Kade Wolhuter, Morne van den Berg, Francke Horn, WJ Steenkamp, Jarod Cairns, Ruan Delport, Ruben Schoeman, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, PJ Botha, Juan Schoeman

Bench:  Franco Marais, Morgan Naude, Conraad van Vuuren, Reinhard Nothnagel, JC Pretorius, Sanele Nohamba, Tapiwa Mafura, Erich Cronje