British & Irish Lions team to play Stormers

Find out the line-up for the tourists’ final game before the Test series 

British & Irish Lions team to play Stormers

Stuart Hogg will captain the British & Irish Lions 2021 side against the Stormers on Saturday.

The full-back hasn’t played since the opening game in South Africa due to a period in isolation but will lead the Lions in their final warm-up match before the Test series.

Marcus Smith, who joined up the squad as injury cover on Monday, starts at fly-half while Robbie Henshaw has recovered from a hamstring injury to start at inside-centre.

Alun Wyn Jones, who has only just rejoined the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury, is named on the bench.

The Lions will be looking to bounce back from Wednesday’s defeat to South Africa A ahead of the three-Test series against the Springboks, which starts on 24 July.

Head coach Warren Gatland said: “It’s an important game as it’s the final chance for the coaching group to see the players perform prior to the start of the Test series.

“For the match-day 23 it’s their last opportunity to stake a claim for a Test place, so I expect to see a highly motivated group of players.

“It is particularly pleasing to be able to name Stuart Hogg in the squad. He’s not had much luck on Lions tours to date, so it’ll be great to see him cross the whitewash again with the captain’s armband.

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“I’m also delighted that Marcus will get his first start in a Lions jersey. I’ve been really impressed with his attitude since coming into camp this week; he’s been like a sponge for information.

“Obviously it’s a tight turnaround from Wednesday’s game but we’re in pretty good shape. We learnt a lot from Wednesday’s game and I hope the defeat will serve us well. There’re still some areas of the game we need to tighten up on, particularly reducing our turnover rate.”

British & Irish Lions team to play Stormers

Stuart Hogg (captain);  Josh Adams, Elliot Daly, Robbie Henshaw, Duhan van der Merwe; Marcus Smith, Ali Price; Rory Sutherland, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tadhg Furlong, Adam Beard, Jonny Hill, Tadhg Beirne, Hamish Watson, Jack Conan.

Replacements: Jamie George, Mako Vunipola, Zander Fagerson, Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Simmonds, Gareth Davies, Chris Harris, Louis Rees-Zammit.

Related: Stormers team to play British & Irish Lions

The match at Cape Town Stadium will kick off at 5pm (UK & Ireland time) on Saturday evening and all tour matches are televised live on Sky Sports.

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