Lions keep changes to a minimum for Edinburgh battle

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has rewarded his side's consistency by making minor changes for Friday night's URC clash against Edinburgh at the DAM Health Stadium.

The coach made just two changes to the starting XV which beat Cardiff 31-18 last weekend.

Stean Pienaar comes in for Edwill van der Merwe at right wing, with the latter flying back to South Africa due to concussion protocols.

In the forward pack, there's also one change with Ruan Venter taking the No 7 jersey from Emmanuel Tshituka, who moves down to the bench.

The Lions will be looking to end their tour unbeaten, having also beaten Ospreys 28-27 in their first game.

Friday's clash in the Scottish capital kicks off at 20:35 (SA time).

Lions team:

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 PJ Botha, 1 Sti Sithole

Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 JP Smith, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Emmanuel Tshituka, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 Morne van dern Berg, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Zander du Plessis