The Fidelity Securedrive Lions may be up against it this weekend when they take on defending Vodacom United Rugby Championship champs Leinster in their own back yard, but it didn’t stop them from seeing a bit of humour in Leinster’s loss to Bordeaux in the Investec Champions Cup final.
During a team media conference scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys laughed at a throwaway comment that said if the Lions score an upset against the Dublin side, they may have to make room on their plane back home for Leinster’s defence coach Jacques Nienaber.
The insinuation was that Niebaber may be run out of town if they lost, as he has already been blamed for Leinster’s loss to Bordeaux in some Irish media quarters.
The blame is nothing new for the World Cup-winning coach, who remains very popular with South African fans.
But Redelinghuys laughed, especially as it seems that every time that Leinster lose, it isn’t head coach Leo Cullen’s fault, but rather Nienaber who gets the blame from the Irish press.
“Yes, everything is apparently his fault,” Redelinghuys laughed.
“Its actually terrible to see how the people (blame) him, because we all know just how good he is and what he means to a team. It feels as if the Irish don’t value him for what he does for the team. Inside the team they will know what he contributes and they will value that contribution, but outside it doesn’t look that way, especially if you see the way he gets thrown under the bus every time the team loses.
“Apparently he isn’t even allowed to breathe in the coach’s box. There is a lot of ugly stuff being said about him but we know him, we have worked with him and know who he is. We have no hesitation in knowing what he can add to a team, but it doesn’t seem they look at it that way.”
CONTACT SITUATION VITAL
One area where the Lions will need to be significantly better is at the contact situation, where they were outplayed a fortnight ago by the same opposition.
“Without trying not to give away any tactics or anything Like you rightfully said, the contact situation is really vital against any team,” Redelinghuys added.
“Any rugby game, the team that goes forward when contact takes place, they have a better chance. Whether it's attack, defence, set-piece. And that's what we see with the Springboks, even with Bordeaux.
“They didn't come with a lot of fancy plays. They didn't come with fancy stuff, they were doing the small things right and that will allow you opportunities.They were just exceptional in taking opportunities. So yeah, can't give away too many tactics but we know what we want to achieve this weekend and we believe if we get that right, that will give us a good chance.”
Redelinghuys also added that the fortnight that the Lions have spent in Dublin has made them a better side and better prepared for what they are about to face on Saturday.
“We had to make the decision: Are we going to fly back to South Africa, prep there and then fly in for this game or whether we're going to stay in Ireland. We chose the latter and I think it definitely gives us the best chance to be fresh, to be sharp.I think that's why the group decided that.
“If I look at the training sessions now, we are sharp. I think the biggest difference will be the fact that we've experienced that now for two weeks. We had a week to freshen up and gave the guys a couple of days off and prepped well.
“The last two days I would say have been sharper - also just not having to travel - than it was that first week. But the proof Is always in the pudding so we're giving ourselves the best chance and hopefully on the day we'll see that.”
The Lions will name their side for the match on Friday.