LIVE SCORING | URC quarter-final: Lions v Leinster

The Lions will be determined to make their season even more special by reaching the URC final four for the first time, but they will be under no illusions about the quarter-final challenge they face against Leinster, who will go all-out to silence their critics after going down in the Champions Cup final last week.

While Leinster’s heavy 41-19 defeat against Bordeaux will fuel the Johannesburgers’ confidence as they look to bounce back from two gut-wrenching defeats in Ireland – one of which was a 31-7 loss against Leinster – they will give everything to avoid suffering the same fate against the Irish giants this week.

Ivan van Rooyen’s men, who remained in Ireland after conclusion of the pool stages to boost their preparations for this encounter, boast a superior attack to Leinster, scoring 17 more points in their 18 matches, but they will go up against a strong defensive outfit, meaning they will have to be accurate in their execution to create an upset.

The quarter-final in Durblin kick offs at 21:00.

FOLLOW THE LIVE SCORING FOR THE LIONS’ QUARTER-FINAL

Leinster v Lions
Date: Saturday, 30 May
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
SA Time: 21h00
Referee: Sam Grove-White
TV: SuperSport

Team news

The Lions enter Saturday’s quarter final with a settled 23 after injury concerns threatened stability last week, but those however have been overcome. Skipper Francke Horne and centre Henco van Wyk have been cleared and are fit to face Leo Cullen’s Leinster.

Scrumhalf Nico Steyn starts in place of the injured Morne van den Berg who is recovering from a bicep injury while Erich Cronje returns to the left wing after missing out against Munster. Experienced hooker Franco Marias returns to the fold as an impact player alongside Rynhardt Jonker and Haashim Pead.

LEINSTER – 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Jimmy O’Brien, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Scott Penny,  6 Max Deegan, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Bench: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Josh van der Flier,  21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Harry Byrne, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

LIONS – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronjé, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (c), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 Sebastian Lombard, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Bench: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Ruan Delport, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Rynhard Jonker, 23 Haashim Pead.