Phil Vickery will lead the Lions against Western Province at Newlands on Saturday © Getty Images

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Matches: Western Province 23 - 26 British and Irish Lions

Players/Officials: Riki Flutey | Phil Vickery

Tournaments/Tours: British and Irish Lions tour

Teams: British and Irish Lions | Western Province

The former England captain Phil Vickery will captain the British and Irish Lions in Saturday's match against Western Province at Newlands, Cape Town.

The Wasps prop becomes the third player to captain the unbeaten tourists' in their fifth game in South Africa and will be looking to press his claims for the first Test match with South Africa in Durban a week tomorrow.

Tour captain Paul O'Connell led the side in Wednesday's 3-39 win over the Natal Sharks in Durban while Brian O'Driscoll captained the tourists in the rout over the Golden Lions earlier on in the tour.

Vickery is joined by several other strong Test-team candidates who will be hoping to impress the coaching staff and force their way into the squad for the first test. They include wings Tommy Bowe and Ugo Monye, fly-half Stephen Jones and loosehead prop Andrew Sheridan.

England centre Riki Flutey, meanwhile, makes his first start of the tour, while flanker Martyn Williams also features after recovering from a shoulder injury. Williams' performance will scrutinsed as one area of the tourists game that has come under pressure has been their performance at the breakdown.

McGeechan said: "The squad is very close as a group of players, but there is now a competitive edge developing as we approach the Test series.

"That is how it should be.

"I reminded the players when I told them the team to play Western Province that we were not selecting the Test side until next Tuesday following the Southern Kings match."

As for Vickery's appointment to lead the team on Saturday, McGeechan added: "It is just reward for a thoroughly professional player who will play in his 10th Lions match.

"No starting players are backing up from the Sharks match as we continue our desire to see all players involved in at least two full matches prior to Test selection."

Lions manager Gerald Davies said: "As a tour party, we are delighted that we have reached Cape Town and the final Saturday provincial match prior to the Test series with an unbeaten record.

"Team morale is high, and each team that takes the field is determined to maintain the momentum and to fight for an individual Test place."

British & Irish Lions: Kearney, Bowe, Earls, Flutey, Monye, Jones, Ellis, Sheridan, Rees, Vickery (captain), O'Callaghan, Hines, Worsley, Williams, Powell

Replacements: Ford, Murray, Shaw, Croft, Blair, Hook, D'Arcy