The Lions are already assured of qualifying from their European Challenge Cup pool and a home fixture against the Ospreys on Sunday offers the opportunity to secure a more favourable draw in the Round of 16.
Lions v Ospreys, Sunday 21st January, Johannesburg, KO 15:00 (South African time)
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (Fra)
Assistant Referees: Luc Ramos (Fra) , Evan Uruzmendi (Fra)
TMO: Patrick Dellac (Fra)
Weather Forecast – Johannesburg
Lions:
The Lions went down 13-3 away to Montpellier in Round 3 although other results in Pool 2 saw the top 4 assured of a Round of 16 spot. Coming into the final round the Lions are in third place with 9 log points, the same total as the fourth placed Ospreys, 2 shy of second placed Benetton and 5 behind Montpellier. Newcastle Falcons and USAP are no longer in contention.
The Lions began with a 28-12 win away to Perpignan and followed up with a bonus point home win over Newcastle Falcons, 35-13.
The Lions now take on fellow URC side the Ospreys. The Lions have already beaten Welsh opposition in the shape of the Scarlets and the Dragons in the URC this season whilst last season they beat the Ospreys 28-27 in Swansea.
Ospreys:
The Ospreys beat USAP 25-3 in a Round 3 home fixture last weekend. They started with a home win over Benetton, 43-34, but in Round 2 they went down 38-5 away to Montpellier.
In the URC this season the Ospreys beat the Sharks 19-5 at Twickenham Stoop in Round 3 and they are in eighth in the standings with a record of 5 wins and 4 defeats, 2 points better off than the Lions who have a game in hand.
Team News
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw (captain, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naudé, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Hanru Sirgel, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Kade Wolhuter, 23 Erich Cronje
Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 George North, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Will Hickey, 5 Adam Beard (c), 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Rhys Henry
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Cameron B Jones, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Tristan Davies, 21 Cameron D Jones, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Keiran Williams
The Betting
Lions -20.5
Ospreys t+20.5
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle
The Lions should win comfortably but I am waiting for points lines before getting involved
Update: 21 Jan 12h35
The points quote are finally available and the line is 62.5 and although that is higher than I had hoped this should be a free flowing game and I am going to go overs on a hot, clear day in Johannesburg
BET: 4 units over 62.5 points at 1/1 at Boylesports*
*Read why Boylesports is a must have account for rugby punters & Click Here To Open An Account @Boylesports
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Subscribe to our free weekly betting mailer which will include our best and value bets below.
