FEET ON THE GROUND
WHITELEY: WE’RE ONLY FOCUSING ON STORMERS GAME
Lions braced for a real battle against a chastened side.
The Lions have remained composed and will not get carried away, according to captain Warren Whiteley, after their early success in the Super Rugby competition.
The squad’s focus was on recovery after arriving back yesterday morning following their 25-16 win over the Jaguares in Buenos Aires at the weekend.
“To be the champions one day is still a goal for us, but it’s still a long way to go,” Whiteley said.
“It’s a very long competition and it’s not won in February.
“We are focusing on our processes and sticking to what we have been doing the last couple of years, and that is focusing on game-by-game.”
The Lions could also face a potential tricky situation this weekend against a Stormers team who got hammered at Loftus Versfeld in their opener, with the hosts likely to be fired up at Newlands.
“I’m very happy for the boys but we have a big one again this week,” Whiteley said.
“Our recovery is really important for us now, having had to travel back, but we’ll start focusing on the next game.”
The Bulls and the Sharks were leading the SA Conference courtesy of their big wins last week, but they faced tough assignments this weekend, with the Bulls travelling to Argentina to meet the Jaguares and the Sharks hosting the resurgent Blues.
For the Lions, however, everything was geared towards their clash against the Stormers, and while they had several Springbok contenders which could provide challenges later in the season, international duty was not yet dominating their mindset.
“The World Cup is obviously the goal for some of the guys and they will be determined to put in good performances, but the focus is obviously here with the Lions,” Whiteley said.
“We want to perform well. It’s going to be a very competitive year in Super Rugby leading up to the World Cup, which is also good for us.
“And to start the campaign like this, it was definitely our mission.”