SKOSAN WINGS IN
‘TACTICAL’: LIONS FLYER REPLACES DYANTYI FOR DERBY Home side have to win to ensure Ellis Park quarterfinal.
Lions coach Swys de Bruin yesterday played the tactical card when he named his side to face the Bulls in a must-win Super Rugby clash at Ellis Park tomorrow.
De Bruin selected Courtnall Skosan for his first start of the year at leftwing in place of incumbent Springbok Aphiwe Dyantyi and Nic Groom at scrumhalf ahead of Ross Cronje, while he had two others bracketed on the bench.
“We have some guys bracketed, but it’s just tactical, with a possible cold front moving over,” said De Bruin.
“Some guys are better in the air and others on the ground and we have also been working on the ro- tation system right from the word go.”
They did however have a setback when loosehead prop Dylan Smith was ruled out with a calf strain and was replaced by Jacques van Rooyen.
“We thought we would wait but we are not going to, rather rest Dylan for one more week, it’s just a twinge in his calf.”
With the Lions needing a win to secure a home quarterfinal in their final league match, De Bruin said he doesn’t want the players to get worked up about possible permutations.
“I think a lot about the table and we do strategise and look at permutations but we try not to take that that into the team environment, we rather focus on the weekend,” he said
“I heard the Bulls coach saying they know how we will play and they are coming here to beat us so that’s what we have prepared for.”
Lions skipper Warren Whiteley described his return as wonderful, but said the Jukskei derby is always massive. “I just want to contribute, I’m not trying to be the guy, I’ve never been like that and I will never be like that,” he said.
“How I approach a game is doing my job and we all have a role to play and each individual is as important as the other.
“In the last game against the Sharks it was so nice being able to contribute and even though we lost it was just great to be part of it again.”
Bulls coach John Mitchell yesterday announced a new captain and a different halfback pairing for their final Super Rugby match of the season, the local derby against the Lions at Ellis Park tomorrow.
Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard’s niggly back has caused Mitchell to give Manie Libbok a start in the No 10 jersey, while the captaincy shifts to lock RG Snyman, a thoroughly deserved honour for a player who has lifted his game to a new level of excellence this season.
Ivan van Zyl also returns as the starting scrumhalf in place of the young and gifted Embrose Papier.
“Ivan is the best scrumhalf we have and he deserves to come back in. And every outing for Manie is important. I said to him he is almost like a first year university student, so it is important for him to develop and learn, wait for his minutes and not to be impatient.
“And like any young flyhalf your biggest challenge is not so much what they possess in terms of skills and athleticism, but more so game-management. Both he and Embrose have exceptional talent, but that is an area they have to learn to manage and serve others, or put pressure on the opposition instead of just running it,” Mitchell said.
There are two other changes to the starting line-up, with Travis Ismaiel returning from injury on the wing and Divan Rossouw going down to the bench where he replaces Dries Swanepoel; and lock Jason Jenkins’ continued injury woes mean Jannes Kirsten has shifted to the second row and Thembelani Bholi gets a starting berth in the loose trio.
“We’ve had three or four forwards out for eight weeks at a time and you just can’t carry that sort of disruption. You can’t rotate your depth then and then you start missing out in close games. It’s crucial for a franchise to have two teams of Super Rugby quality and that’s what we’ll be building towards. It’s become a question of depth for us now.
“We’ve got to build that depth and you can’t rotate players unless you have experienced depth. This club has relied on introducing youth far too early, in my opinion. Our Test players have played extremely well this year and now I want to add to them. The problem has been our depth – numbers two to four in each position adapting too slowly,” Mitchell said.
The coach has named three uncapped players on the bench in hooker Johan Grobbelaar, lock Ruan Nortje and flyhalf Boeta Hamman.