Lions' 15 Loftus heroes again crack nod for Benetton URC clash

• The Lions starting XV is unchanged for their clash against Benetton.
• The Lions beat the Bulls 29-25 in Pretoria in their previous URC encounter.
• Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruan Dreyer and Travis Gordon are newcomers on the bench.

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has named a settled line-up for Saturday's URC clash against Benetton in Italy.

Van Rooyen picked the same starting XV that upset the Bulls 29-25 at Loftus Versfeld on 4 March.

The only changes are on the bench, with Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruan Dreyer and Travis Gordon added to the mix.

Centre Marius Louw retains the captaincy.

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Speaking from Treviso ahead of Saturday's encounter, Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys said he expected a physical encounter combined with an expansive style of play from both sides.

"Benetton are a team that likes to throw the ball around, and we ourselves like to do the same so I think it will be an entertaining match to watch. In saying that, the team that is more accurate and can absorb the pressure will do well," the former Bok prop said.

"Reflecting on our last fixture against them back in South Africa last year, it was probably one of the most physical games and that's what we look forward to the most, coupled with playing against a quality team with a few internationals potentially coming back.

"Its going to be a good battle and a really good game for us to see where we're at as we feel we've grown over the past couple of weeks and ultimately what counts is what happens between the four white lines."

The Lions are 11th (33 points) on the URC standings with seven wins from 15 matches, while Benetton are ninth (38 points) with eight wins from 15 matches. 

Saturday's clash at Stadio Monigo kicks off at 15:00 (SA time).

Lions team:

15 Quan Horn, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith

Substitutes: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Rhynardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee