The Lions will look to end a difficult week with a much-needed United Rugby Championship victory when they face Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium on Friday night.
The Johannesburg-based side are seventh in the URC standings and will be seeking a response after last week’s Champions Cup defeat by Stade Rochelais in France. The match came a day after their team-mate Hyron Andrews tragically passed away, and the Lions will be aiming to honour his memory with a strong performance in Edinburgh.
They face the only side to have won every match so far this season. Edinburgh have impressed throughout the campaign, securing narrow victories against Ulster and the Stormers in matches that tested their ability to produce a result under pressure.
The hosts have also been marginally more effective in attack than the Lions, while conceding almost half as many points to their opponents. Those statistics will increase the pressure on the visitors as they attempt to claim the points.
However, the Lions showed last season that they are capable of competing at the highest level after reaching the URC quarter-final. With a place in the top eight at stake, they are expected to commit fully to the contest as they continue to deal with the loss of Andrews.
Francke Horn returns to captain the Lions, while prop Boan Venter will play against his former side after joining the Johannesburg club from Edinburgh.
Kick-off is at 20:45 South Africa time.
Match details
Edinburgh v Lions
Date: Friday, 23 October 2026
Venue: Hive Stadium, Edinburgh
SA time: 20:45
Referee: Peter Martin
TV: SuperSport
Teams
Edinburgh: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Geordie Gwynn, 13 Matt Currie (co-captain), 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 James Grayson, 9 Hector Patterson, 8 Magnus Bradbury (co-captain), 7 Tom Currie, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Harri Morris, 17 Jamie Stewart, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Tom Dodd, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Harry Paterson.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Siba Mahashe, 21 Zian Cilliers, 22 Richard Kriel, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.
