Twenty-year-old Malcolm Marx will start at hooker for the Lions against the Hurricanes at Ellis Park on Friday.

Marx represented SA U20 at the Junior World Championship last year but sustained a knee injury in their second match that ruled him out for six weeks. He then returned to play for the Golden Lions in the U19 domestic competition.

Lions coach Johan Ackermann has entrusted him with the No 2 jersey, with the more experienced Armand van der Merwe on the bench. Robbie Coetzee is still recovering from the neck surgery that resulted in him being sent home from the Springbok tour squad last November.

As expected, Marnitz Boshoff has retained the No 10 jersey with Elton Jantjies, who is back from Japan, on the bench.

The team will be captained by Warren Whiteley.

Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Martin Muller, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Subs: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Warwick Tecklenburg, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Stokkies Hanekom.

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images