Van den Berg can spark Lions in Challenge Cup redemption hunt against Edinburgh
Image: BackpagePix
The Lions made a few changes to their side to strike a balance in fielding and resting key players as they hunt a quarter-final place in the Challenge Cup, and chase a spot in the top eight in the United Rugby Championship.
For now, all the focus will be on beating Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium (9pm kick-off) in the Scottish capital, and putting on a better performance than what was the case last weekend in Glasgow.
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen selected an exciting starting XV on Thursday for the round of 16 clash in the EPCR competition.
The inclusion of Morné van den Berg at scrumhalf should provide the Johannesburg outfit with some attacking impetus.
Not that his replacement Nico Steyn did not do well in his injury-enforced absence, but Van den Berg brings a different dimension to the Lions' attack.
If the conditions don't allow the visitors to play their running brand of rugby, the tactical kicking at scrumhalf and flyhalf, and from fullback Quan Horn, will have to be on point.
Van den Berg will resume his halfback partnership with Gianni Lombard as the Lions' two game drivers.
Rynhardt Jonker taking over from the experienced Marius Louw at inside centre comes as a surprise, but it ties in with the team wanting to strike that balance in giving the players game-time over the next few weeks.
Upfront, fetcher Jarod Cairns comes in for JC Pretorius, Franco Marais is the starting hooker and loosehead SJ Kotze has been given a chance to state his case in place of Juan Schoeman.
Schoeman will come off the bench and could face his brother Pierre, who plays for Edinburgh.
Jaque Fourie, the Lions' defence coach, said earlier in the week that they must find that middle ground when it comes to the players' minutes on the field.
'When you get to knockouts, you want to play your best teams,' he said.
'We also want to get that continuity (in selection) going. We have chatted about that quite a bit, because we are going into the business end of the tournaments.
'We want to win (in the knockouts), but we also want to end in the top eight of the URC.
'There were lengthy discussions (on resting players), but we have sorted it out.
5️⃣0️⃣ for Wes Goosen ✨@EdinburghRugby make four changes to their team after their #BKTURC win against the Dragons last weekend 🤩
All #ChallengeCupRugby Team News ⬇️ — EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) April 3, 2025
'We are prepared to play for six weeks straight if it comes down to that. The more the team can play together, the better it will be for us and them.'
Looking at their peculiar position in both competitions, it's unsurprising that the Lions selected their best to continue forging on in the Challenge Cup.
If they can find that momentum and play to their ability, they can go all the way to the final, like the Sharks did last season.
✨ Round of 16 Fixtures ✨
Bath Rugby, Racing 92, Hollywoodbets Sharks and the Vodacom Bulls drop into the competition, some mouthwatering ties to come 🍿
Who are you backing to make the #ChallengeCupRugby final in Cardiff, tickets on sale now ⬇️ — EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 22, 2025
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