South Africa ‘A’ v British & Irish Lions
Kick-off: 7pm, Wednesday. Venue: Cape Town Stadium. How to follow: The Irish Times liveblog will begin at 6.30pm. On TV: Live on Sky Sports Rugby.
Conor Murray will captain the British & Irish Lions for the first time when the tourists face South Africa ‘A’ at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.
Bundee Aki and Iain Henderson have also been named in the starting line-up, while Tadgh Beirne - scorer of two tries in Saturday’s 71-31 win over the Sharks - is among the replacements as Warren Gatland makes a dozen changes to the starting XV.
Anthony Watson, Chris Harris and Dan Biggar are the only players retained, with Watson moving from right wing to fullback while Harris switches from inside centre to outside centre.
“We’re pleased to have arrived in Cape Town as we near the halfway stage of the Series,” said Gatland.
“Wednesday’s game against South Africa ‘A’ will be our toughest encounter since we arrived here and we’re looking forward to it. We expect them to be physical in the contact area and look to test us at scrum time.
“I think we’ve benefitted from playing at altitude in the first three games. While the boys have felt it in their lungs, they’ll be all the better for it now we’re at sea level.
“As we move towards the business end of the Tour, it’s pleasing to see so many players putting in some stand-out performances. As coaches we want the players to make Test selection as hard as possible and that’s we’re seeing.”
British & Irish Lions: Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England); Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales), Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland), Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland), Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales); Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales), Conor Murray - captain (Munster Rugby, Ireland); Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales), Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England); Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland); Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby, Wales), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England), Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales).
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England), Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland), Adam Beard (Ospreys, Wales), Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland), Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England), Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales), Elliot Daly (Saracens, England).
