Elliot Daly to start for Lions against DHL Stormers on Saturday

There are three Saracens in the British & Irish Lions match day squad as Head Coach, Warren Gatland, has named his team to play the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday 17 July.

Daly starts after an impressive performance against South Africa ‘A’ on Wednesday night, with Jamie George and Mako Vunipola both on the bench.

Following a period of isolation in Johannesburg, Stuart Hogg is named captain of a brand new starting XV from the one that went down 17-13 to South Africa ‘A’ on Wednesday evening. 

The game, which will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports, is the final Tour match before the start of three Tests against World Champions, the Springboks.   

“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,” said Gatland.  

“For the matchday 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.   

“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. The South Africa ‘A’ game was a physical encounter – we always knew it would be – but we’ve come out of it pretty much intact and ready to go again. Liam Williams will begin his return to play protocol following his HIA.  

“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. 

“Time and again on this Tour we’ve had to adapt in the face of the challenges created by COVID-19. I couldn’t be prouder of the staff and the players for the role each of them has played to get us to this point on the Tour.” 

DHL STORMERS v THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

15 Stuart Hogg
14 Josh Adams
13 Elliot Daly
12 Robbie Henshaw
11 Duhan van der Merwe
10 Marcus Smith
9 Ali Price
1 Rory Sutherland
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Tadhg Furlong
4 Adam Beard
5 Jonny HIll
6 Tadhg Beirne
7 Hamish Watson
8 Jack Conan

Replacements:

16 Jamie George
17 Mako Vunipola
18 Zander Fagerson
19 Alun Wyn Jones
20 Sam Simmonds
21 Gareth Davies
22 Chris Harris
23 Louis Rees-Zammit