Warriors pair named in British and Irish Lions squad for second Test

Warriors’ pair Duhan van der Merwe and Rory Sutherland have again been named in the British & Irish Lions matchday squad for the second Test against South Africa at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 5.00pm BST).

Van der Merwe impressed in the 22-17 victory over the Springboks in the first Test and again starts on the left wing while loosehead prop Sutherland has been named as a replacement.

Sutherland was initially named on the bench for the first Test but was promoted to the starting XV on the day of the match following the withdrawal of the injured Wyn Jones.

England’s Mako Vunipola, who replaced Sutherland midway through the second half, will start in the second Test with Sutherland reverting to the bench.

That is one of three changes made by Lions Head Coach, Warren Gatland who , has also called Scotland centre Chris Harris and Ireland scrum-half Conor Murray into the starting XV.

Historically, the Lions have lost just two Series after winning the first Test (against New Zealand in 1930 and Australia in 2001).

“As always, selection was incredibly tough,” said Gatland. “However, we’ve made the changes we think are the right calls for the weekend’s game.

“It’ll be another tight contest. We know the Springboks will be hurting and they’ll throw everything at us on Saturday, but I think there’s plenty more to come from us too. We feel we can go up another level from where we were in the first Test and I would expect us to improve.

“It’s the biggest game on the Tour and we have to embrace the expectation that comes with it. As players and coaches, these are the games you want to be involved in. We’re relishing the opportunity to face the Springboks again on Saturday and potentially seal a Series win.”

Saturday’s clash against the reigning World Champions is the second of three Tests matches in the Castle Lager Lions Series to be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports.

British and Irish Lions

15 Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs, Scotland) #783
14 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816
13 Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844
12 Robbie Henshaw (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #824
11 Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #841
10 Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821
9 Conor Murray (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790
1 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851
3 Tadhg Furlong (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #818
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825
5 Alun Wyn Jones – captain (Ospreys, Wales) #761
6 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, England) #826
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853
8 Jack Conan (Leinster Rugby, Ireland) #839

Replacements
16 Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829
17 Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors, Scotland) #840
18 Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814
19 Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838
20 Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779
21 Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #843
22 Owen Farrell (Saracens, England) #780
23 Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822

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