Just when they got a bit of momentum, the Lions have been rocked by losing two of their brightest stars for the next few months.
Springbok Morne van den Berg, or “Krappies” as he is known in team circles, has been struggling with a hamstring injury and missed the win over Scarlets last weekend.
Van den Berg was called up to the Springboks for their end-of-year tour and because of that, the Lions don’t want to risk him with such a testy injury that could easily relapse.
Lions kicking consultant Morne Steyn said as much in the media call on Tuesday, with the Lions giving Krappies enough time to recover to play a part in the Bok game plan up north.
“Morne is still struggling with the injury, so we don’t want to risk him this weekend,” Steyn explained.
“We are very excited for Krappies that he is with the Springboks again. He is almost ready to play, but we don’t want to force him for this game coming up.
“We don’t want to risk him, and maybe force him out of the Bok tour.”
The other player the Lions have lost is top flanker JC Pretorius, the turnover specialist that hurt his knee in the win over the Scarlets and will now be out until around late January it seems, missing a number of Lions’ matches.
Pretorius has been particularly effective at the breakdown, an area that the Lions have struggled in their opening four games this season.
“It’s sad to lose JC; he will be out for four months, so it’s not looking good with all the injuries. He is one of our top players, and we are really going to miss him.
“He injured his knee after coming back a while ago because of the knee, and now he injured it again,” Steyn added.
Turning to Ulster’s arrival at Ellis Park, where the Irish side has lost five players, either to injury or call-ups to the Irish squad, the former Bok believes the Lions will need to counter the aerial battle if they want to be successful.
“Ulster are a quality side, like all Irish teams,” Steyn said. “They’ve got great forwards and exciting backs. From nine to 15, almost all of them can kick, and that’s quite something.
“It’s also going to be a physical battle, but luckily we play here in Joburg. Hopefully, we can tire them out a bit, run them around, and get points on the board.”
But the Lions are confident in their kicking game after winning the aerial battle against Scarlets, with winger Angelo Davids in particular rather effective. So Steyn sees it as a key area the team can exploit.
“At the moment our kicking game is working well for us,” Steyn explained.
“Chris Smith has slotted in nicely at flyhalf. I played with him at the Bulls, so I know what he brings. He’s calm, takes control of the game, and runs it nicely.
“Then you have great wingers contesting in the air and winning the ball back. Hopefully, we can take the same game into this weekend and maybe get the same result.”
The Lions will name their side for the clash on Friday.