Lions need to show real character against Crusaders
JOHANNESBURG: Lions coach Swys de Bruin will ask his players to stand up and show what they’re made of when they host the Crusaders at Ellis Park on Sunday.
The Lions go into the game on the back of two defeats in three outings – against the Blues and Jaguares – while they scraped home against the Sunwolves in between those two defeats.
And Sunday’s visitors are the same team the Lions lost to in last year’s final, at the same venue.
“These windows of losing happen occasionally,” said De Bruin. “But we’re still four from six and second in the standings. But what we need now is to show some real character against the Crusaders so we can get back on track.”
Indeed. The Lions won’t want another defeat now; especially with the Stormers heading to Johannesburg next weekend.
But more than character the players need to turn things around and De Bruin will have to select smartly this week. His team are in need of a shake-up, or at least a wake-up, ahead of this Sunday’s match and selecting the right men could be key in ensuring the kind of turnaround he’ll be hoping for.
The good news is the three players who weren’t able to play in Buenos Aires last week – Ross Cronje, Andries Ferreira and Jacobie Adriaanse – are all available, and should move straight into the matchday squad; the first two men straight into the starting team.
The tight five almost picks itself should De Bruin use stand-in captain Franco Mostert as his No 5 lock, joining Ferreira and the front row of Ruan Dreyer, Jacques van Rooyen and Malcolm Marx. It is the make-up of the loose trio, however, that will give De Bruin plenty to think about.
Mostert is an option at blindside flank – assuming Ferreira and Marvin Orie are the locks – with Kwagga Smith at No 6, but it’s anyone’s guess at this stage who’ll pack down at No 8. There’s Len Massyn, while rookie Willie Engelbrecht is also an option and Robert Kruger can also play there, if he shakes off a concussion sustained in Argentina.
Also, Cyle Brink can play at No 6 or 7, while Hacjivah Dayimani, of whom so much was expected, has been used – experimentally – on the wing in recent weeks, so it is uncertain whether he is an actual option for the coaching team or not.
At the back De Bruin needs to restore the midfield pairing of Harold Vorster – who didn’t feature against the Jaguares – and Lionel Mapoe, with Rohan Janse van Rensburg playing off the bench. However, with hotshot wing Aphiwe Dyantyi being ruled out of rugby for six weeks due to a pectoral muscle injury, the burly centre may just find himself back on the wing, where he turned out not too long ago.
“I’ll have a better idea of who’s available and who isn’t on Wednesday when we get together after having the early part of the week off,” De Bruin just after the team arrived back from South America.
“There are some injury concerns, like Aphiwe, but I’ll only think about the team make-up later on.”
Centre Howard Mnisi, just back from spending the whole of 2017 on the sidelines, hurt his knee in Argentina, but may be available to play this week. Regular skipper Warren Whiteley – ruled out a few weeks ago with a knee problem – has a small chance of playing this week, but will more likely only return next week or the week thereafter, according to De Bruin.