Five Lions who need to roar their way into the Bok reckoning

AFTER SUFFERING three Super Rugby defeats in a row in Australasia the Lions will want to hit back when they host the Brumbies at home on Saturday. Collectively they need to stand up and win again, but certain individuals will also be keen to show their mettle, especially with the Springbok squad being named next weekend. Here rugby writer JACQUES VAN DER WESTHUYZEN highlights five Lions players who have it all to do to get onto Bok boss Rassie Erasmus’ “must-pick” list

The race for the Bok No 15 jersey is on. The Bulls’ Warrick Gelant appears to be most fans’ favourite and while he has enjoyed a great season, it is understood overseas-based Willie le Roux is also in the mix. But what about the Lions’ Coetzee? He was the man in the hot seat last year and is again enjoying a good Super Rugby season. One or two missed tackles have again got the naysayers talking, but one cannot argue against his attacking statistics so far in the competition, which should not be overlooked: He’s ninth for metres run with the ball, seventh for number of ball-carries (110) and second for number of defenders beaten (48) – that’s impressive stuff. Back on home soil this week he’ll be desperate for a strong showing to get a tick behind his name.

The outside centre started the season in red-hot form, but he’s gone cold in recent weeks – much like the rest of his teammates and he’s fallen back in the national pecking order. Mapoe – a player who has flirted with becoming a permanent member of the Bok squad for years – has seemingly lost the spark that was there in the early rounds of the competition and he’ll want to return to his best as quickly as possible. All the talk about outside centre options for the Boks has been around Lukhanyo Am and Jesse Kriel, with hardly a mention for the Lions No 13. Yet, Mapoe is the most experienced of all the men playing at outside centre in SA and is as solid going forward as he is on defence. A big two weeks lie ahead for him.

The Lions man has not been nearly as influential as he was in 2016 and 2017, but he’s played consistently well and appears to have taken a step up in the tackle department. While there is not much to criticise about the way the No 10 has gone about his business this year, he has not caught the eye as much as Damian Willemse, Handre Pollard and even Robert du Preez have this season. Still, Jantjies is fifth on the point-scorers list with 100 points and remains a key figure in the Lions back division – and how he’ll want one of those match-winning performances this weekend, just to remind South Africa he’s not to be written off just yet. When Jantjies is on song, the Lions, too, perform at their peak; and it’s time we saw that from the No 10 again.

It’s so hard to be critical of the stand-in skipper because he gives his everything week in and week out for the Lions and is almost always among his team’s top performers. But for whatever reason he doesn’t seem to get the recognition from observers like other locks do – among them RG Snyman, Lood de Jager, Pieter-Steph du Toit and when fit, Eben Etzebeth. But it’s worth noting Mostert has won the second most number of lineouts this season (53, De Jager is first) and he’s fourth for tackles made – 138. The Lions’ lineout – while often thought of as a bit wonky – has also fired; they’re third for success rate at 90%. Mostert is the ultimate workhorse and a player who should get a number of ticks behind his name in the coming weeks.

It’s amazing how a year on from being the cornerstone of one of the best scrums in Super Rugby, Dreyer is now hardly spoken about as a contender for the Bok No 3 jersey. Twelve months ago the Lions were dominating all-comers and Dreyer was the hotshot tighthead, but not anymore. Sure he’s given away a few penalties – but which No 3 doesn’t nowadays?

And the likes of Wilco Louw, Trevor Nyakane, Thomas du Toit and even overseas-based Vincent Koch are deemed the Boks’ best bet to anchor the national scrum. The Lions though have the fourth best scrum in Super Rugby, winning 90% of their put-ins, so Dreyer can’t have fallen so far behind in the pecking order. He’ll be keen though to make a statement against the Brumbies this weekend. THE WORD out of New Zealand is that the Chiefs, already low on players due to an injury crisis, are now also stripped of their All Black contingent heading into their Super Rugby clash against the Sharks at Kings Park on Saturday.

Immediately, it looks as if it is “advantage Sharks” with Richie McCaw’s understudy Sam Cane, World Player of the Year Brodie Retallick, electrifying attacking threat Damian McKenzie, and four front-rankers all at an All Black national camp.

However, Sharks flyhalf Robert du Preez says that nothing has changed for the home team as they prepare to face their fourth New Zealand opponents this season.

“New Zealand teams can put out a team with zero Super Rugby caps and they will still be sharp; they just churn out players like it is nothing,” Du Preez said. “We can’t take this game lightly.

For the Sharks, it is much more about focusing on what they need to do rather than what their opponents will be capable of doing, as they look to build on what was a courageous loss to the Bulls in Pretoria last weekend.

“They obviously have their things to do, with their All Blacks resting, or whatever the case may be, but we have a job to do and it is more about us, rather than who they put out in front of us,” Du Preez added.

“Whether they put out their full-strength team or their third-string team, we still have a job to do so we have to focus on our processes and make sure we do the crowd some good this weekend.”

The Sharks have shown in their three previous matches against Kiwi teams that they know how to handle the often unstoppable and unpredictable New Zealand sides. They beat the Blues in Auckland, scoring 60-plus points, lost in unfortunate circumstances to the Hurricanes in Napier by a point, then returned home and thrashed the Highlanders.

However, although it looks as if they have cracked the “Kiwi code”, Du Preez is a bit wary of flaunting that idea.

“If you tell the New Zealand sides you have cracked their code, then they will change the code,” Du Preez grinned.

“We have had some success against them but I wouldn’t say we have cracked any code; I think we just lift ourselves.”

Du Preez then got a little philosophical, delving into why the Sharks have not managed to maintain their high standards in all their games this season.

“That is probably part of the problem,” he mused. “Playing against home unions, the boys are not mentally there, but for the New Zealand games you pick yourself up, which isn’t right but it is part of the issue. We have done well against the New Zealand sides, they will know that, so they will come very well prepared.”

The Chiefs will know they have a tough task, especially with as many as 20 of their squad missing due to injury and the All Black camp. There will be a host of new faces, but as veteran hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle says: “The only thing that will change for the game is that if it is 10 changes, then it will be 10 hungrier players who have not had the opportunity to play at this level that are looking forward to their chance; it could make the game even tougher.”