Sutherland and Van der Merwe start for Lions

Duhan van der Merwe and Rory Sutherland both start for the British & Irish Lions as they play the Cell C Sharks on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (kick off 5pm BST).

Van der Merwe scored a hat-trick on Wednesday against the same opponents while Sutherland made an impressive cameo from the bench.

Head coach Warren Gatland said: “It’s obviously been a slightly turbulent week, but we remain determined to keep rolling with the punches.”

“In many ways, the challenges we’ve faced this week have strengthened our resolve to do everything we can to overcome the challenges created by covid.

“The feeling in the camp on Wednesday night was just to give it a crack – I was really proud by how everyone reacted, particularly the match day squad who would have never prepared for a game like that before.

“Saturday is another opportunity to see how the boys go and for us as coaches to try out a few more combinations ahead of the Test series.”

Lions:
15. Liam Williams (Scarlets, Wales)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England)
13. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England)
12. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland)
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales)
9. Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales)
1. Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland)
2. Jamie George – captain (Saracens, England)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England)
5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, England)
6. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland)
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby, Scotland)
8. Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) 

Replacements:
16. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales)
17. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales)
18. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England)
19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England)
20. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England)
21. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England)
22. Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland)
23. Finn Russell (Racing 92, Scotland) 

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