Dan Biggar will make his second start in five days for the British & Irish Lions as they take on South Africa A in Cape Town this Wednesday (KO 7.00pm BST).
The Saints fly-half played the full 80 minutes in Saturday's 71-31 victory over the Sharks, a game that was arguably the tourists' toughest to-date until a second half red card saw their hosts fade away.
Biggar is one of only three survivors from that starting XV – Anthony Watson and Chris Harris being the others – as he partners skipper Connor Murray in the half-back berths at Cape Town Stadium.
Head coach Warren Gatland is expecting the intensity to rise in South Africa's capital.
“We’re pleased to have arrived in Cape Town as we near the halfway stage of the Series,” he said.
“Wednesday’s game against South Africa ‘A’ will be our toughest encounter since we arrived here and we’re looking forward to it. We expect them to be physical in the contact area and look to test us at scrum time.”
“I think we’ve benefitted from playing at altitude in the first three games. While the boys have felt it in their lungs, they’ll be all the better for it now we’re at sea level.
“As we move towards the business end of the Tour, it’s pleasing to see so many players putting in some stand-out performances. As coaches we want the players to make Test selection as hard as possible and that’s we’re seeing.”
The game against South Africa A will be shown live and exclusively on Sky Sports.
SOUTH AFRICA A vs THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS
Wednesday 14 July, 2021
Cape Town Stadium
Kick-off: 7.00pm (BST)
15. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, England) #816
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby, Wales) #846
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester Rugby, Scotland) #844
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht Rugby, Ireland) #837
11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #836
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints, Wales) #821
9. Conor Murray – captain (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #790
1. Wyn Jones (Scarlets, Wales) #842
2. Ken Owens (Scarlets, Wales) #829
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, England) #814
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, England) #825
5. Iain Henderson (Ulster Rugby, Ireland) #808
6. Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby, Wales) #854
7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, England) #853
8. Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby, Wales) #779
Replacements:
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, England) #851
17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, England) #787
18. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland) #848
19. Adam Beard (Ospreys, Wales) #852
20. Tadhg Beirne (Munster Rugby, Ireland) #838
21. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, England) #849
22. Gareth Davies (Scarlets, Wales) #850
23. Elliot Daly (Saracens, England) #822
