Junior Springboks' beast Batho Hlekani to debut for Lions against Lyon in Challenge Cup

The Lions have wasted no time in unleashing new signing Batho Hlekani, with the powerful Junior Springbok set to make his debut against Lyon in a Challenge Cup fixture at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The sturdy flanker is one of the rising stars of South African rugby, and there was "hell to pay" at the Sharks when their contracting system failed and Hlekani was poached by the Lions.

The Sharks' senior management had intended to build their future team around the likes of Hlekani and a host of other Junior Boks in their system. When it emerged that their recruitment department had been "asleep on the job" and the Lions had struck, owner Marco Masotti was reportedly furious, and remains so.

Hlekani officially became a Lion on January 1 and reported for training last week. Coach Ivan van Rooyen took one look at the 115kg giant and slotted him into his match-day 23 for the round-three match against the French outfit. Hlekani, a 20-year-old product of Graeme College in the Eastern Cape, will play off the bench in a strong Lions team, with only a few senior players enjoying a break.

Both sides are yet to register a win in the Challenge Cup, and the winner of this encounter will salvage an outside chance of making the play-off stages. Kick-off is at 5.15pm.

In other team news, Conrad van Vuuren is selected at tighthead prop, as Asenathi Ntlabakanye is nursing a hamstring niggle. Renzo du Plessis gets an opportunity in the back row alongside skipper Francke Horn and Siba Qoma.

In a change to the backline that beat the Sharks last week, Richard Kriel starts on the right wing. Lions fans will also be delighted that the hard-tackling Henco van Wyk has returned from injury and will make his comeback from the bench.

Lions forwards coach Julian Redelinghuys said his pack is in for a tough battle in the set pieces. “The difficult thing about French teams is that you never know which side you are going to play,” Redelinghuys said. “Home or away, you can never be sure of who is going to be selected. They are very good when they get momentum early on, coupled with a very good kicking game.

“The French are smart with how they shoot up on defence, and they are careful in their own half until they feel they can launch an attack. For us, we know we have to be alert,” he cautioned. “Obviously, they bring a massive set-piece focus. The French pride themselves on that.”

Lions team to play Lyon:

15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (capt), 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Conrad van Vuuren, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Eddie Davids.

Bench: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 RF Schoeman, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Haashim Pead, 22 Henco van Wyk, 23 Rabz Maxwane.