Calm before the storm
KRIEL: PLAYERS KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THE SITUATION
Elton Jantjies set to become the Lions’ most-capped player.
The Lions have learned to deal with the huge pressure associated with knockout games, captain Jaco Kriel said yesterday ahead of their quarterfinal against the Sharks at Ellis Park.
Kriel was set to lead an unchanged side tomorrow, following last week’s win over the same opponents, in front of what could be a large crowd in excess of 40 000.
“There’s a great deal of excitement within the squad,” Kriel said.
“I really believe the challenge for us is to direct that excitement in the right direction.”
While the Lions were viewed as the massive favourites, the Sharks also had experience in knockout games.
“Within that excitement the players are also calm. They know how to handle the situation as we have the experience of last year, but we’ll have to take this weekend as it comes and play the game that we know we are capable of.”
Wing Ruan Combrinck was due to earn his 50th Super Rugby cap, while flyhalf Elton Jantjies, the top points scorer with 166, would surpass former Lions captain Franco van der Merwe’s record of 83 appearances.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann said they had taken note of the inclusion of Curwin Bosch at flyhalf for the Sharks.
“Curwin is a talented player. He was the Man-of-the-Match last time they played us here,” Ackermann said.
“But it will boil down to a collective team effort, we can’t worry about one guy.”
Despite having beaten the Sharks twice this year, they know they are in for a massive game.
“I personally would have been disappointed if we didn’t prepare mentally as for any other side.
“Over the last few years the players know my heart. The challenge for any rugby player is to respect your opponent regardless of who they are,” Ackermann said.
“The Sharks are one of those teams who can beat anybody on the day, so we can’t read anything into past results.”
By yesterday afternoon more than 30 000 tickets had been sold for the game.
Rising young star a big threat to home side’s hopes.
Sharks coach Robert du Preez has preferred Curwin Bosch to Garth April at flyhalf for their Super Rugby quarterfinal against the Lions at Ellis Park tomorrow.
Bosch shone at flyhalf for the Sharks in the first half of the season, including during their narrow defeat the last time they came up to Ellis Park, before going off to join the Junior Springboks and then being moved to fullback or playing off the bench.
Du Preez explained yesterday that he would be looking to Bosch to play the territory game in what amounts to a cup final for both teams.
“Last time we played against the Lions up there, Curwin did really well and we hope for a repeat performance. Garth is obviously very important in our set-up and will play off the bench, but I think Curwin’s kicking game is a bit better and that’s the main reason for his selection.
“It is a final, effectively, and in the last game we didn’t get the territory we wanted, so that’s going to be a big focus for us. We want to put them under pressure and we want to be relentless.
“The whole of South Africa expects the Lions to win, so the pressure is on them. Our mindset is that we have nothing to lose,” Du Preez said.
That was the only change to the Sharks team that pushed the Lions hard in the first half of last weekend’s game before eventually going down 27-10.
Bosch was arguably the best player on the field when the Sharks lost 34-29 to the Lions at Ellis Park at the beginning of April, kicking superbly, with great accuracy off the tee as well as gaining huge swathes of territory with his lengthy touchfinders.
The fact that he is starting tomorrow can only shorten the odds of the Sharks pulling off a major upset.