Lions sweat over captain Louw's fitness

The Emirates Lions will be anxiously hoping their captain Marius Louw recovers from a niggle ahead of their crucial Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.

Louw has a knee niggle, the extent of the injury is however unclear, but given how crucial he is to the Lions, it won’t be surprising if they leave a decision on his fitness until the team announcement.

Already winger Richard Kriel has been ruled out because of a hamstring injury, with Rabz Maxwane coming in on the wing to partner Edwil van der Merwe and Quan Horn in a fast back three.

If Louw isn’t fit to play, then Jordan Hendrikse is the man targeted to start at inside centre alongside Erich Cronje.

That would leave an interesting 10-12 combination between Sanele Nohamba and Hendrikse, which has a lot of attacking potential, but may be targeted on defence by Glasgow.

The team will be announced on Friday at lunchtime for the clash, which the Lions need to win in order to keep their top eight hopes alive in the penultimate round of the competition.

The Lions are currently 10th, just four points behind eighth placed Benetton, who face the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.