Pienaar replaces injured Van der Merwe for Edinburgh clash

Edwill van der Merwe is out of the Lions’ United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Edinburgh on Friday.

Van der Merwe was crocked in the Welsh capital last weekend, and his place for the clash in the Scottish capital goes to Stean Pienaar.

It is a considerable blow for the Lions who have shown a distinct upward curve since their opening weekend defeat to the Bulls in the URC.

The only other change is upfront where Ruan Venter swaps places with Emmanuel Tshituka‚ who will start from the bench.

The coherence with which the pack has gone about their business contributed greatly to the away wins over the Ospreys and Cardiff.

The recent surge in form can also be attributed to the halfbacks Gianni Lombard and Sanele Nohamba quickly finding their feet as a partnership.

They will start for the third match in a row with the preferred pair at the start of the campaign‚ Jordan Hendrikse and Morné van den Berg‚ again assigned to positions on the bench.

Pienaar will have his work cut out against Edinburgh. He returns to the team against opposition that are particularly well stocked in the wider areas. In fact‚ Edinburgh have announced Scotland and British & Irish Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe’s return to the club.

Van der Merwe became a free agent after his club Worcester Warriors fell into administration. They were suspended by the RFU and will be automatically relegated next season.

“Edinburgh Rugby is pleased to announce British & Irish Lions and Scotland star winger Duhan van der Merwe is coming back to the capital on a long-term deal‚ subject to visa‚ medical and regulatory clearances‚” the club said.

It is not clear when Van der Merwe‚ who scored 32 tries in 67 appearances for Edinburgh‚ will play his first game back at the club.

Argentina international Emiliano Boffelli is‚ however‚ very much in the mix to face the Lions.

“He was back last week getting his visa and everything is sorted out‚ so he’ll be in training and we’ll see how he is from there.

“He got through the internationals very well‚ played well. [He] doesn’t appear to have come back with any injury issues at all‚” said Edinburgh coach Mike Blair.

Lions team to play Edinburgh: Andries Coetzee; Stean Pienaar‚ Henco van Wyk‚ Marius Louw‚ Quan Horn; Gianni Lombard‚ Sanele Nohamba; Francke Horn‚ Ruan Venter‚ Sibusiso Sangweni; Reinhard Nothnagel (captain)‚ Pieter Jansen van Vuren; Ruan Dreyer‚ PJ Botha‚ Sti Sithole.

Replacements: Jaco Visagie‚ JP Smith‚ Ruan Smith‚ Emmanuel Tshituka‚ Ruhan Straeuli; Morne van den Berg‚ Jordan Hendrikse‚ Zander du Plessis.