Lions to unleash Junior Springbok duo on Leinster

Flanker Venter and fullback Horn, who have been impressive across junior and senior provincial competitions over the past year, will line up in a match-day 23 which sees centre Wandisile Simelane and flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse make their return to the starting XV.

"We're excited to see how Ruan and Quan go tomorrow. It's an extended opportunity for them to immerse themselves into our system and ultimately express their talent on the big stage," Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said.

15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 PJ Steenkamp, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole

Substitutes: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Lunga Ncube, 20 Sibusiso Sangweni, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel

Looking ahead to the Leinster challenge, Van Rooyen said: "In terms of our approach tomorrow night, the catalyst for us will be the ability to adapt our style of play and our decision making at key moments during the game."

The Lions mentor is optimistic about his side's set-piece challenge despite having issues at lock, with a considerable amount of his jumpers out injured.

"The focus will be ensuring we get accurate lineout ball to create a platform for us to launch our attack and hold onto possession for as long as we can. Leinster is a side that thrives on getting their hands on the ball."

Elsewhere, Lunga Ncube and Nico Steyn are in line to make their URC debuts.

Friday's match at th RDS Arena kicks off at 21:35 (SA time).