While they don’t have as many Springboks returning as the Vodacom Bulls do, the 10bet Lions know the importance of this Vodacom United Rugby Championship game Round 3 game at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The Lions, who are two wins from two, go into the Jukskei derby hoping to repeat their win at Loftus Versfeld last season - a win that started their run into their first top eight finish and the SA Shield title to boot.
But after winning games against Leinster and Ospreys to open the season, the team want the momentum to continue now, and are very keen take the scalp of their neighbours, who recovered to make the Grand Final last season.
Other than the pride and bragging rights that goes with these games, the Lions head overseas next and will only be back in Johannesburg in December to face opposition again, so leaving the country on a high note can only be a good thing.
They kick off their tour next week with their Champions’ Cup debut against Stade Rochelais - or La Rochelle - in France in a tough introduction to European competition, and then follow it with two weeks in Scotland - unbeaten Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors await them in the next games thereafter, making it a tough tour before they return home to host the Bulls on December 4.
Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys has admitted that this makes this weekend’s fixture all the more crucial for the Lions, who want to ensure they don’t waste a good start to the competition.
“I think we've got a six-game block now, which is three URC, one Champions Cup, and then two more URC. So this game sets up massively,” Redelinghuys said.
“But I think in the URC we've learned now that all the games are really important. Obviously we want to start well with the derbies, and we think the Shield is something that we were proud of last year. And not to say we're focusing on the Shield, but obviously for us, we need to have a good start against the SA teams.
“And now it's strength versus strength. All the Springboks are available, we're assuming. So I think it's going to be a good battle this weekend, and we definitely have a very important mindset on this.”
PRAISE FOR VENTER
The Lions are waiting on the fitness of Etienne Oosthuizen and Henco van Wyk this week, and the Bulls have a few niggles as well.
But Redelinghuys knows the Lions are likely to face a Springbok-laden side.
“Yeah, we've got no idea how they're gonna select this weekend, because obviously they've got, I think it's 10 SA players that's coming back. Are they going to play them to start, or are they going to rotate and still put them on the bench like they did with the All Blacks? So we're not sure how they're gonna select for this weekend. So, we can't really say. I think they do have a couple of niggles. I think the teams have to be out on Thursday, so then we'll know.”
Redelinghuys praised new Bok acquisition Boan Venter for his influence on the pack and what he has brought to the team in terms of scrumming power.
“Ja, he's a top guy. So for us, having Boan now, he joined us during the All Blacks week, and he arrived here on Thursday, or actually, I think, the Friday before the Tuesday game. And the guys immediately clicked with him. So it says a lot about his attitude, about his, what do you call it? Personality, as he already clicked with all the boys. I think for him to be back, and he's saying he's playing rugby in Afrikaans again,” Redelinghuys smiled.
“So for him, he's enjoying it, and you can see it. So the more he enjoys it, the rest of the boys enjoy it. And then, like you said, he's massive in the set piece. Obviously, for him, we feel his work-on is in the loose, and we've been seeing great progress there. So yeah, we're excited to see where he's going to be able to go for this team.”
And the scrum battle will be huge against the Bulls.
“So obviously, South Africans, we love our set piece, hey. It was easy when we played the Welsh teams or the Irish teams. Now it's SA versus SA. Two proud scrummaging packs. Ja, we're not sure who they're gonna select. We've got a couple of injuries we have to rotate this week.
“But now the set piece is a massive, massive part of our game. We wanna use that as a platform to attack from. We wanna use that as a platform to create moments from. But we are well aware that the Bulls bring a very different picture than what Ospreys and Leinster brought.”
The Lions will name their side on Thursday.