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Lions team v All Blacks: Rassie Erasmus releases Springboks duo for final Rugby's Greatest Rivalry touring match

Planet Rugby · Jared Wright · 2026-08-24T08:43:18+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Lions bolstered by released Springboks and new signings for All Blacks showdown Head coach Ivan van Rooyen has named a strong Lions team to face the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Tuesday in the final Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry touring match. Dave Rennie’s charges have gone unbeaten so far in South Africa, defeating the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks before going 1-0 up in the Test series against the Springboks. The All Blacks‘ attention now turns to their final outing against a United Rugby Championship club, the Lions, who have been bolstered by Springboks players ahead of the fixture. Rassie Erasmus has released Quan Horn and Boan Venter from the Boks squad to feature against New Zealand, with the former starting at full-back for the Lions whilst the latter is included on the bench. Lions team named to face the All Blacks Horn is joined in the back three by wingers Kelly Mpeku and Erich Cronje while Richard Kriel and Henco van Wyk combine in the centres. Chris Smith will partner Nico Steyn in the half-backs, the latter getting the nod ahead of rising star Haashim Pead for the number nine jersey. Francke Horn captains the side from the number eight jumper and combines with Batho Hlekani and Siba Mahashe in the loose trio. Ruan Delport and Etienne Oosthuizen are the starting locks while loosehead Sebastian Lombard and tighthead SJ Kotze start either side of hooker PJ Botha. Venter is in line to make his debut for the Lions, who he has joined from Scottish club Edinburgh. He will provide front row cover along with hooker Morne Brandon and tighthead RF Schoeman. Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust. There are further potential debuts for Hyron Andrews and five-Test cap Springbok Sikhumbuzo Notshe, who signed for the Lions following stints in England and France, respectively. They are the forward replacements, along with JC Pretorius, with Van Rooyen opting for a 6-2 bench split. Boeta Chamberlain could also debut for the side, having returned to South Africa following a spell at the Newcastle Red Bulls, as he will look to make an impact in the backline with Pead. Lions scrum-half Morne van den Berg has remained with the Springboks squad and could be in line for a place in the team to face the All Blacks in the second Test match on Saturday. The teams Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco Van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Boan Venter, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Boeta Chamberlain All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 11 Emoni Narawa, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Semisi Ta’eiloa, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Sam Darry, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Siale Lauaki Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Saula Ma’u, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg Kick-off: 19:10 (local SAST), 18:10 (UK), 19:10 (France), 19:10 (South Africa), 03:10 (26 August, AEST), 05:10 (26 August, New Zealand), 14:10 (Argentina), 02:10 (26 August, JST), 13:10 (EDT) Referee: Angus Gardner (RA) Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Nika Amashukeli (GRU) TMO: Brett Cronan (RA) FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)