The Fidelity Securedrive Lions have confirmed that their hard-running loose forward, Ruan Venter, has returned home with a knee injury.
The injury to Venter, who left the field in the fourth minute in the loss against Leinster, was a massive blow for the Lions and he will definitely not be available for the team’s final game against Munster in Limerick this weekend.
The Lions squandered their chance of a top four placing with the loss, and still have not confirmed their place in the playoffs, although a single bonus point against Munster will be enough to see them qualify for the first time.
Coach Ivan van Rooyen lamented the loss of Venter, and the team’s performance against Leinster, but remained hopeful of bouncing back against Munster this weekend.
Munster also need to win to ensure they finish as high as possible, with the Bulls likely to take fourth spot now as they face lowly Benetton in their last game.
“Unfortunately, Ruan Venter flew back last night to get scans on that knee,” Van Rooyen said from Limerick.
“We hope it's not horrible news. But he is quite uncomfortable, quite sore. So he flew back last night already to get home and get scans and then we'll see from that scan what the result is and what is needed. The rest of the guys at this stage just have some bumps and bruises. Luckily, nothing major for anyone else.”
MUSTER A MUST-WIN GAME
Van Rooyen said the team missed an opportunity against Leinster and would need to bounce back.
“We need to recreate some energy, get some excitement for the week ahead. It is a big week for us. We can control what we can control and we want to make sure we prep really well for a tough Munster team.
“There is a lot going on behind the scenes at Munster, which will only bring them closer together and make them more desperate for the final home game. So we expect a big week, and we have a big opportunity on Saturday.”
Van Rooyen added that they see the Munster game as a “must-win”, particularly because they are not safe yet in the playoffs.
“Late in the Leinster game we could have had some penalties and tried to get into their half. Unfortunately, we made three defensive errors, which led to three tries. So up to minute 68, we felt we had swung the momentum back into our favour.
“There was the opportunity there for us to maybe get lucky and do something special against Leinster. And unfortunately, in the last ten minutes, we conceded three tries, which throws the score off a little bit. But we're not blind for things that we had to do better.
“If you're going to make three defensive errors against a quality Leinster team away, they're going to score three tries. We created some moments where we just didn't capitalise. And before you know, the game is away from you.
“So the big focus is obviously this week against Munster. We can't chance anything. We see it as a must-win game. Both us and Munster need the points to make sure that we go through.”
The Lions will announce their team for the clash on Friday.