The Lions are eager to pick up where they left off their Super Rugby campaign before the international break when they take on the Sharks at Ellis Park this weekend.
The Johannesburg-based side had been on a high leading up to the month’s break‚ having won nine of their 12 matches and comfortably leading the South African conference after accumulating 46 log points‚ six more than the next best side‚ the Stormers.
While it may seem that Johan Ackermann’s charges have all but secured a playoff spot‚ the remaining three pool matches will prove to be crucial in deciding the three SA sides that will feature in the playoff stage of the competition.
The Lions are hoping for more of the same kind of performances they produced in the early stages of the competition‚ which they ended with an emphatic 56-20 win against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on their last outing.
“Hopefully the continuity will be there because you can’t think the guys would lose everything after the amount of games they have played together just after a few weeks. We believe match fitness for the guys will be okay‚” the side’s coach‚ Ackermann‚ said on Thursday.
“Getting back to the unity and fluency we had before the break will be a challenge for all the teams.”
For the first time in many seasons the Lions had a big contingent of players representing the Springboks in the international break‚ while others‚ including the coach‚ were part of the SA A side that played against the England Saxons.
Over the previous few seasons the Johannesburg side had the advantage of having an almost full complement of personnel to work with during their breaks‚ which made getting back into the swing of Super Rugby business easier.
“In the past we never had so many players away from the system‚ we always managed them all in-house. But it has looked good on the training field this week‚” Ackermann said
Such breaks are not without casualties.
The Lions have had to deal with the loss of captain Warren Whiteley‚ who will miss the remainder of their Super Rugby campaign with a shoulder injury he sustained while on duty for the Boks.
“Any team would miss Warren. We are not going to make a secret about that. He’ll be missed for numerous reasons‚” said the coach.
Jaco Kriel‚ who made his Bok debut last week‚ will lead the side as captain in Whiteley’s absence.
“We experienced [parts of] last year without him (Whiteley) when we had to play the Currie Cup without him‚ and Jaco (Kriel) did a tremendous job coming in as captain‚” said Ackermann.
“We also had guys like Ross (Cronje)‚ Faf (de Klerk) and Lionel (Mapoe) who developed as leaders and built up more experience. That is where I’m going to rely on those senior players to take the team forward.
“We’ll always miss Warren for the player that he is and the amount of work he puts in on the field‚ but we always said that it would be a squad effort that takes the team forward.”
Whiteley’s place at the back of the scrum will be taken by Ruan Ackermann‚ while Cyle Brink will provide cover on the bench.
“Ruan and Cyle have done good work for us this Super Rugby campaign‚ now it is time for them to step up‚” said Ackermann.
“The last two games‚ while we were all in different places‚ Ruan played No8 against Griquas and the Leopards‚ and he did very well for us there. His lineout work is good and he brings different strengths than Warren.
“I don’t think there is any player in our system who brings the attributes that Warren does.”
Ackermann went on to explain his decision to start with his 20-year-old son ahead of the 22-year-old Brink.
“It was a flip of a coin‚ but we believe that now that (scrumhalf) Ross (Cronje) has played with Ruan in the past few weekends‚ and he is settled at No8 so he deserves that opportunity.”
Both the Lions and Sharks named their various squads for Saturday’s encounter‚ which kicks off at 5.10pm.
Lions team:
Andries Coetzee‚ Ruan Combrinck‚ Lionel Mapoe‚ Rohan Janse van Rensburg‚ Courtnall Skosan‚ Elton Jantjies‚ Faf de Klerk‚ Ruan Ackermann‚ Warwick Tecklenburg‚ Jaco Kriel‚ Franco Mostert‚ Andries Ferreira‚ Julian Redelinghuys‚ Malcolm Marx‚ Dylan Smith. Replacements: Armand van der Merwe‚ Corne Fourie‚ Jacques van Rooyen‚ Lourens Erasmus‚ Cyle Brink‚ Ross Cronje‚ Howard Mnisi‚ Sylvian Mahuza.
Sharks team:
Odwa Ndungane‚ JP Pietersen‚ Paul Jordaan‚ Andre Esterhuizen‚ Lwazi Mvovo‚ Garth April‚ Michael Claasens‚ Philip van der Walt‚ Jean-Luc du Preez‚ Keegan Daniel‚ Stephan Lewies‚ Etienne Oosthuizen‚ Lourens Adriaanse‚ Franco Marais‚ Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle‚ Thomas du Toit‚ Coenie Oosthuizen‚ Ruan Botha‚ Tera Mthembu‚ Stefan Ungerer‚ Rhyno Smith‚ S’bura Sithole.
Lions name new skipper against the Sharks
The Lions are eager to pick up where they left off their Super Rugby campaign before the international break when they take on the Sharks at Ellis Park this weekend.
The Johannesburg-based side had been on a high leading up to the month’s break‚ having won nine of their 12 matches and comfortably leading the South African conference after accumulating 46 log points‚ six more than the next best side‚ the Stormers.
While it may seem that Johan Ackermann’s charges have all but secured a playoff spot‚ the remaining three pool matches will prove to be crucial in deciding the three SA sides that will feature in the playoff stage of the competition.
The Lions are hoping for more of the same kind of performances they produced in the early stages of the competition‚ which they ended with an emphatic 56-20 win against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on their last outing.
“Hopefully the continuity will be there because you can’t think the guys would lose everything after the amount of games they have played together just after a few weeks. We believe match fitness for the guys will be okay‚” the side’s coach‚ Ackermann‚ said on Thursday.
“Getting back to the unity and fluency we had before the break will be a challenge for all the teams.”
For the first time in many seasons the Lions had a big contingent of players representing the Springboks in the international break‚ while others‚ including the coach‚ were part of the SA A side that played against the England Saxons.
Over the previous few seasons the Johannesburg side had the advantage of having an almost full complement of personnel to work with during their breaks‚ which made getting back into the swing of Super Rugby business easier.
“In the past we never had so many players away from the system‚ we always managed them all in-house. But it has looked good on the training field this week‚” Ackermann said
Such breaks are not without casualties.
The Lions have had to deal with the loss of captain Warren Whiteley‚ who will miss the remainder of their Super Rugby campaign with a shoulder injury he sustained while on duty for the Boks.
“Any team would miss Warren. We are not going to make a secret about that. He’ll be missed for numerous reasons‚” said the coach.
Jaco Kriel‚ who made his Bok debut last week‚ will lead the side as captain in Whiteley’s absence.
“We experienced [parts of] last year without him (Whiteley) when we had to play the Currie Cup without him‚ and Jaco (Kriel) did a tremendous job coming in as captain‚” said Ackermann.
“We also had guys like Ross (Cronje)‚ Faf (de Klerk) and Lionel (Mapoe) who developed as leaders and built up more experience. That is where I’m going to rely on those senior players to take the team forward.
“We’ll always miss Warren for the player that he is and the amount of work he puts in on the field‚ but we always said that it would be a squad effort that takes the team forward.”
Whiteley’s place at the back of the scrum will be taken by Ruan Ackermann‚ while Cyle Brink will provide cover on the bench.
“Ruan and Cyle have done good work for us this Super Rugby campaign‚ now it is time for them to step up‚” said Ackermann.
“The last two games‚ while we were all in different places‚ Ruan played No8 against Griquas and the Leopards‚ and he did very well for us there. His lineout work is good and he brings different strengths than Warren.
“I don’t think there is any player in our system who brings the attributes that Warren does.”
Ackermann went on to explain his decision to start with his 20-year-old son ahead of the 22-year-old Brink.
“It was a flip of a coin‚ but we believe that now that (scrumhalf) Ross (Cronje) has played with Ruan in the past few weekends‚ and he is settled at No8 so he deserves that opportunity.”
Both the Lions and Sharks named their various squads for Saturday’s encounter‚ which kicks off at 5.10pm.
Lions team:
Andries Coetzee‚ Ruan Combrinck‚ Lionel Mapoe‚ Rohan Janse van Rensburg‚ Courtnall Skosan‚ Elton Jantjies‚ Faf de Klerk‚ Ruan Ackermann‚ Warwick Tecklenburg‚ Jaco Kriel‚ Franco Mostert‚ Andries Ferreira‚ Julian Redelinghuys‚ Malcolm Marx‚ Dylan Smith. Replacements: Armand van der Merwe‚ Corne Fourie‚ Jacques van Rooyen‚ Lourens Erasmus‚ Cyle Brink‚ Ross Cronje‚ Howard Mnisi‚ Sylvian Mahuza.
Sharks team:
Odwa Ndungane‚ JP Pietersen‚ Paul Jordaan‚ Andre Esterhuizen‚ Lwazi Mvovo‚ Garth April‚ Michael Claasens‚ Philip van der Walt‚ Jean-Luc du Preez‚ Keegan Daniel‚ Stephan Lewies‚ Etienne Oosthuizen‚ Lourens Adriaanse‚ Franco Marais‚ Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle‚ Thomas du Toit‚ Coenie Oosthuizen‚ Ruan Botha‚ Tera Mthembu‚ Stefan Ungerer‚ Rhyno Smith‚ S’bura Sithole.
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