Francke Horn

Francke Horn, born on 24 May 1999, is a flanker for the Lions, the Johannesburg-based franchise that competes in the United Rugby Championship. A forward who came through the South African age-grade system, having represented his country at under-20 level, Horn has matured into a physical and dependable presence in the loose forwards. He is a strong ball-carrier who relishes punching holes close to the ruck, and his work over the ball makes him a genuine threat at the breakdown. Allied to that is a heavy defensive workload: Horn is a tackler who throws himself into the contact area repeatedly and rarely shirks the grind of forward play. Within the Lions' pack he has grown into something of a defensive organiser, his work rate and turnover ability feeding directly into the side's structure at the ruck. Combative, durable and consistent, he embodies the abrasive forward play long associated with South African rugby and gives the Lions a reliable operator across the back row.