Lions relishing chance to face "different beast" Leinster

The Emirates Lions have enjoyed their best start to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in their history, but they know one thing - all their success and growth will be on the line when they face their toughest task this Saturday: Facing off to fellow unbeaten Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.

While the Lions scraped through to an ugly win in driving rain against Zebre Parma on Saturday, they now will face a baptism of fire at the stadium most sides fear to play and against a Leinster side that are in superb form this season, and who haven’t looked like they can be stopped in this URC yet after five rounds.

The real question now is if the Lions have the self-belief to go toe-to-toe with one of the best club sides in the world, and if they do, they will certainly know after the game just how much they have progressed in a short space of time this season.

It’s all good to talk about a resurgence in Lions form, and the fact they have scored some unbelievable wins this season, but any rugby fan knows the real measure of a side is whether they rise to the occasion when it comes to facing the giants of the sport.

If they do, they will not only put a dent in the invincibility tag on Leinster but also show a number of other sides that to go to Dublin and win in Leinster’s back yard is not impossible.

It’s a steep task, but one that coach Ivan van Rooyen says he is relishing.

“We are under no illusion that it is probably 90 per cent of the best team in the world currently, with Ireland ranked No 1, so we know where Ireland’s test ranking is,” Van Rooyen said after the team’s win over Zebre.

“We are under no illusion that it is going to be tough, but we are excited to see how and where we can push them. To see if we can push them and set us apart from where we were last year.

“We will start selling that picture to the team soon.”

Van Rooyen highlighted the role of Leinster’s assistant coach - former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber - in the side’s success and said the Dublin side will be a “different beast” to what they have faced thus far in the competition.

“Next week will be a totally different challenge for us, different beast, different tempo, different running options, rushed defence because Jacques Nienaber is there.

“They have been going well so it is a totally different challenge for us which is exciting.”

Van Rooyen was pleased with the side’s two wins on tour thus far, which has put them in a strong position as the top ranked South African side at the moment.

“If you offered me eight points pre-tour, I probably would’ve taken it.

“We knew the first two games were going to be tough. The Dragons are a tough team, and the way they play at home, disrupting breakdowns, spoiling as much as they can – it’s tough to beat them there.

“And Zebre in these conditions – all the x-factor went out the game, it became an arm wrestle and kicking game. So it has been a big character lesson for us, a lot of rugby lessons for us so if we keep on growing, anything is possible next week.”

The Lions have confirmed that Asenathi Ntlabakanye, their cult status tighthead prop, should have recovered from his concussion for the match and there was hope that Darrien-Lane Landsberg would also be fit and ready for the game. Other than this, Van Rooyen said a decision would be made whether to fly Kade Wolhuter and Tapiwa Mafura in to join the squad as they have recovered from their injuries.

But back to Leinster, Van Rooyen confirmed this is an exciting week for the Lions as they relish the prospect of their Dublin showdown.

“It’s important to keep on holding on to what has been working for us. It is going to be an exciting clash next weekend.

“It is probably the first time, I am assuming, that we will play Leinster’s real A-team and we are playing at Aviva which we know how proud they are there,” Van Rooyen said.

“It is a big week for us. We’ve had four really different games in four different conditions and with four different ways and styles.

“I think Zebre played us really well, especially in the last 20 minutes, when they didn’t really play any rugby, they just kicked back to us finding grass.

“So there’s some nice lessons to learn for us. We feel there is growth internally which is good.”

The Lions will name their side for the clash on Friday.