To the Emirates Lions, the message ahead of the Jukskei Derby is clear - this is personal.
That’s the clearest message that could be sent to the Vodacom Bulls as they head to Johannesburg this weekend for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby on Saturday.
Springbok Morne van den Berg, who was on media duty on Monday, made it abundantly clear when asked about his expectations for the game.
“It is massive for us. It is guys you know well. It is personal,” he said unequivocally.
“These are the games you want to play in. It's the ones the fans want to see.”
Van den Berg detailed why the Lions are so pumped for the opportunity to face their more fancied neighbours.
“I suppose there will be extra energy and there will be bigger collisions. I love playing against the local franchises. I like the physicality of it. I want to match their physicality, if not top it. You want to measure yourself against the other players in the Bok frame,” he said.
The Lions almost scored an upset last year at Loftus Versfeld, where they had the Bulls but Jordan Hendrikse, who has now moved to the Sharks, shifted the ball left of the posts in a last minute penalty.
But the Bulls won the return game easily at Emirates Airline Park, and claimed the double, and bragging rights between the two sides.
Van den Berg said a lot of time has gone into processing those losses to ensure they don’t happen again. And the players don’t need motivation.
“The coaches don’t have to say anything. It’s been a while since we’ve got a chance to correct that performance,” he said referring to the 25-10 Bulls win in the corresponding game last year.
“It’s not necessarily the result, but how we played that day. We’ve had some good learnings and we know what to expect and nothing needs to be said.”
Both teams will name their sides for the clash on Friday.