British & Irish Lions versus South Africa A match preview

Following the British & Irish Lions’ second win in four days over the Cell C Sharks on Saturday, they now turn their attention to a South Africa A side that are full of World Cup winners for their fifth match of the tour and their fourth on South African soil.

When, where and how to watch the match
The match will kick-off at 19:00 (BST) on July 14th at Cape Town Stadium.

It will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, Supersport in South Africa, Stan Sport in Australia and Sky in New Zealand.

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Line-ups
British & Irish Lions
15. Anthony Watson
14. Louis Rees-Zammit
13. Chris Harris
12. Bundee Aki
11. Josh Adams
10. Dan Biggar
9. Conor Murray (c)
1. Wyn Jones
2. Ken Owens
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Maro Itoje
5. Iain Henderson
6. Josh Navidi
7. Tom Curry
8. Taulupe Faletau

Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Mako Vunipola
18. Zander Fagerson
19. Adam Beard
20. Tadhg Beirne
21. Sam Simmonds
22. Gareth Davies
23. Elliot Daly

South Africa A
15 – Willie le Roux
14 – Cheslin Kolbe
13 – Lukhanyo Am (c)
12 – Damian de Allende
11 – Sbu Nkosi
10 – Morné Steyn
9 – Faf de Klerk
1 – Steven Kitshoff
2 – Joseph Dweba
3 – Trevor Nyakane
4 – Eben Etzebeth
5 – Franco Mostert
6 – Marco van Staden
7 – Pieter-Steph du Toit
8 – Jasper Wiese

Replacements:
16 – Malcolm Marx
17 – Coenie Oosthuizen
18 – Vincent Koch
19 – Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg
20 – Rynhardt Elstadt
21 – Herschel Jantjies
22 – Jesse Kriel
23 – Damian Willemse
24 – Kwagga Smith
25 – Elton Jantjies

Head-to-head
The Lions have never lost to South Africa A across their five encounters, but the two sides drew the last time they met in 2009.

1955: Lions 15 – 12 South Africa A (Junior Springboks)
1962: Lions 16 – 11 South Africa A (Junior Springboks)
1980: Lions 17 – 6 South Africa A (Junior Springboks)
1997: Lions 51 – 22 South Africa A (Emerging Springboks)
2009: Lions 13 – 13 South Africa A (Emerging Springboks)

Match odds from Bet365
Bet365 have the Lions as 7/10 favourites to win this match.*

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Prediction
With the Test series drawing ever closer, Jim Hamilton feels time is running out for players to impress Gatland. He said: “With what has been a disjointed series so far we are all hoping that South Africa A offer a real strong test against the Lions, especially up front as we are less than two weeks from the Test matches themselves.

“For some players this will be the last opportunity to stake a claim to Warren Gatland and the other coaches for a place in the Test 23.”

*Odds accurate as of 13/07/21. BeGambleAware.org 18+ Gamble Responsibly

**New customers only. Min deposit £5. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.