Munster’s Tadhg Beirne starts for Lions against Stormers

THE British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland, has named his team to play the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday 17 July (kick off 5pm BST).

Munster’s Tadhg Beirne makes his fourth appearance for the Lions, his third start in the back-row, having scored three tries in three games for the tourists.

Following a period of isolation in Johannesburg, Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland), is named captain of a brand new starting XV from the one that went down 17-13 to South Africa ‘A’ on Wednesday evening.

New recruit, Marcus Smith (Harlequins, England), will make his Lions debut at fly half.

Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) returns from a hamstring injury to take place in the midfield alongside Elliot Daly (Saracens, England).

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Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) also returns to the starting line-up following the birth of his daughter last night.

Following his return to the squad, Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales) is also named among the replacements.

The game, which will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports, is the final Tour match before the start of three Tests against World Champions, the Springboks.

“It’s an important game as it’s the final chance for the coaching group to see the players perform prior to the start of the Test Series,” said Gatland.

“For the matchday 23 it’s their last opportunity to stake a claim for a Test place, so I expect to see a highly motivated group of players.

“It is particularly pleasing to be able to name Stuart Hogg in the squad. He’s not had much luck on Lions Tours to date, so it’ll be great to see him cross the whitewash again with the captain’s armband.

“I’m also delighted that Marcus will get his first start in a Lions jersey. I’ve been really impressed with his attitude since coming into camp this week; he’s been like a sponge for information.

“Obviously it’s a tight turnaround from Wednesday’s game but we’re in pretty good shape. The South Africa ‘A’ game was a physical encounter – we always knew it would be – but we’ve come out of it pretty much intact and ready to go again. Liam Williams will begin his return to play protocol following his HIA.

“We learnt a lot from Wednesday’s game and I hope the defeat will serve us well. There’re still some areas of the game we need to tighten up on, particularly reducing our turnover rate.

“Time and again on this Tour we’ve had to adapt in the face of the challenges created by COVID-19. I couldn’t be prouder of the staff and the players for the role each of them has played to get us to this point on the Tour.”

DHL STORMERS v THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

15 Stuart Hogg – captain (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) #783

14 Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #836

13 Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

12 Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #824

11 Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #841

10 Marcus Smith (Harlequins, England)

9 Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #843

1 Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #840

2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851

3 Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #818

4 Adam Beard (Ospreys, Wales) #852

5 Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, England) #845

6 Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838

7 Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland) #847

8 Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839

Replacements:

16 Jamie George (Saracens, England) #819

17 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787

18 Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #848

19 Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, Wales) #761

20 Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England) #849

21 Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) #850

22 Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844

23 Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales) #846

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