None of the union's Springbok players have made it into the team for the match in England.
Eighthman WJ Steenkamp will captain a weakened Lions team in their second round Challenge Cup match against Newcastle Red Bulls in England on Saturday evening.
The Lions go into the match having come unstuck against Benetton in Joburg last weekend.
Coach Ivan van Rooyen has picked a very different team to the one that played last Saturday, with none of the side’s national players, such as Morné van den Berg, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ruan Venter and Quan Horn, in action.
Return of PJ Botha
Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse said the squad remained confident of putting up a good performance despite losing to Benetton. Newcastle beat Lyon in round one.
“We really have confidence going into this match. You can see by how the guys have trained that there is a little bit of fresh energy. We have hope and we are positive that it’s going to go the other way this weekend,” said Pieterse.
In other team news, hooker PJ Botha returns to the squad after lengthy injury absence, while loan recruit, Leon Lyons, is set to make his international debut as an impact player.
Kick-off at Kingston Park is 7.30pm SA time.
Lions: Gianni Lombard, Rabz Maxwane, Manuel Rass, Richard Kriel, Angelo Davids, Sam Francis, Nico Steyn, WJ Steenkamp (capt), Siba Qoma, Renzo du Plessis, Ruben Schoeman, Dylan Sjoblom, RF Schoeman, Morné Brandon, Eddie Davids. Bench: PJ Botha, Leon Lyons, Conraad van Vuuren, Ruan Delport, Jarod Cairns, Haashim Pead, Lubabalo Dobela, Rynhard Jonker
