Lions boosted by Bok stars ahead of tough Ospreys clash at Ellis Park
· Citizen
The Lions have been given a boost by the inclusion of their Springboks, scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and utility back Quan Horn, on the bench for their United Rugby Championship (URC) game against Ospreys at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 1.45pm).
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After starting off their season with a tight win over a weakened Leinster team last week, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has largely kept the same starting 15, only making two rotational changes and one injury enforced change.
Among the forwards, Siba Qoma and JC Pretorius come in on the flanks, with Batho Hlekani dropping out of the match 23 and Siba Mahashe to the bench, while in the backline Henco van Wyk is concussed and is replaced by youngster Ethan Adams.
Despite a winning start to the season, Lions assistant coach Jaque Fourie said the team had been working hard this week to up their game for a tricky encounter against an Ospreys side they had mixed results against over the last five years.
“There is still a lot we have been working on this week after our game against Leinster. They are always a quality side (no matter who they send) and they always put up a fight to the end as we saw,” explained Fourie.
“But that (close win) was good for us. I think after the game we played against New Zealand (during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour), we were on a high. But the URC is a different competition.
“So every week we have to reset. Looking at Ospreys they are going to bring different challenges this weekend. But we have had a good week of prep and we are excited about where we are at this stage.”
Different challenge
Looking at Ospreys, who suffered a 41-24 loss against the Sharks in Durban last weekend, Fourie believed they would bring a very different challenge to the one the Lions faced against Leinster.
“We look at the way we think they want to play. The conditions (in Durban) weren’t really conducive to running rugby because they kicked a lot. But we also think that is the way they want to play, they want to kick and suffocate, and we have to prepare well for that,” said Fourie.
Last season the Lions produced their best ever season in the URC, finishing seventh on the log and making the play-offs for the first time, and they did it after a poor start to their campaign, but this time around they are desperate to do the same and a good start will help them with that.
“Picking up from where we left off last season, I think as humans we want to do better and as a team we want to do better. So the focus is getting to the quarterfinals again, and then after that is trying to reach the semifinals and top four,” said Fourie.
“But like I said, we want to start well. We have Ospreys (at home) now, then we have the Bulls (at Loftus) and then we travel overseas, where we play in the Champions Cup against La Rochelle (in France) and then two URC games against Glasgow and Edinburgh (in Scotland).
“So if we can start well over these first five games that will set us up for a good home leg when we return to South Africa.”