Skipper: Seniors must set the tone

PROCESSES ARE SIMPLE, THEY STAY THE SAME Lions take on Cheetahs in Super Rugby opener.

There is a responsibility among the nine Springboks in their squad to produce the goods and set an example, according to Lions captain Warren Whiteley, when the Super Rugby competition kicks off this weekend.

Eight of the nine national players are expected to be involved in the Lions’ opener against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday, with the sole exception of explosive wing Ruan Combrinck who is still nursing a shoulder injury, but is inching closer to first team action.

“We have spoken to one another and we have a responsibility to the team as senior players,” Whiteley said.

The five players who joined the squad late after returning from Japan, including Whiteley, flank Jaco Kriel, flyhalf Elton Jantjies, lock Franco Mostert and centre Lionel Mapoe, missed a great deal of the pre-season which started in November.

The skipper admitted they would need to hit the ground running.

“As players who have been away, to come into a group who have been working extremely hard week in and week out, we need to now step up and lead from the front,” Whiteley said.

Other players including Combrinck, hooker Malcolm Marx, centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg and scrumhalf Faf de Klerk also only joined the wider training group after a break in early January.

“We know we need to take that responsibility on our shoulders,” Whiteley said.

“To do that, we are putting pressure on ourselves as players, but we are up for it and feeling excited.”

After the Lions emerged as the top South African team in the competition last year, they were expecting to face a renewed onslaught by their local opposition as well as Australian teams, who had started to target the Lions as a threat and no longer a walkover outfit.

Whiteley assured, however, that they were confident in the squad’s processes and would be ready to put up a fight.

“I don’t feel any pressure whatsover. Our processes are simple and they stay the same,” said the skipper.

“Regardless of where we finished the previous season, or even what the last result was, come the Monday the processes stay the same.”