This is a list of rugby union footballers who have played for the Lions in Super Rugby, the Pro14 and United Rugby Championship competitions, and the EPCR Challenge Cup. The list includes any player that has played in a regular season match, semi-final or final for the Lions, ordered by debut date and name. The Lions competed in Super Rugby in 1996 as Transvaal, in 1997 as the Gauteng Lions, as the Cats between 1999 and 2006 and as the Lions between 2007 and 2012 and from 2014 to 2020, competed in the Pro14 Rainbow Cup in 2021, the United Rugby Championship from 2021 and in the EPCR Challenge Cup since 2022.
Following the 2012 Super Rugby season, the Lions were removed from the competition for underperformance and replaced by the . Following the 2013 season a promotion/relegation playoff was held to decide whether the Lions or Southern Kings would compete in 2014. Only players who represented the Lions in the 2013 promotion/relegation play-off are listed below, which were only recorded as appearances by the SARU.