On the eve of the new season of the Champions Cup, the rugby community has been rocked by the tragic death of Lions lock Hyron Andrews while on tour with the team.
Although it was initially thought that the Lions’ clash against La Rochelle would be re-scheduled as a result of the tragedy, the team ultimately decided that they would play in honour of Andrews.
It’s already been confirmed that in memory of Andrews, a moment’s silence will be held ahead of every Champions Cup and Challenge Cup match this weekend.
This will undoubtedly be an incredibly emotional occasion, and only the Lions player will know the state of mind that they might be in when they take to the pitch to face La Rochelle.
Chris Smith will captain the Lions in Saturday’s encounter, with several changes having been made to the team, including Sikhumbuzo Notshe starting at No 8 in the absence of injured regular skipper Francke Horn.
Kick off is at 18:30.
FOLLOW THE LIONS’ LIVE SCORING
MATCH INFORMATION
LA ROCHELLE – 15 Sacha Elissalde, 14 Tevita Ofa, 13 Semi Lagivala, 12 Jules Favre, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Valentin Bouju, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Watisoni Waqanisaravi, 4 Charles Kante Samba, 3 Karl Sorin, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Alexandre Kaddouri.
Subs: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Louis Penverne, 18 Aleksandre Kuntelia, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Matthias Haddad, 22 Dillyn Leyds, 23 Avakuki Niusalelekitoga.
LIONS – 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Erich Cronjé, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Morné Brandon, 1 Boan Venter.
Subs: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Richard Kriel, 23 Boeta Chamberlain.
Stade Rochelais v Lions
Date: Saturday, 17 October 2026
Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre, La Rochelle
Kick off: 18:30 (SA time)
Referee: Sam Grove-White
TV: SuperSport