Ackermann betting his money on Mapoe
Star centre should go to World Cup, says Lions coach
LIONS coach Johan Ackermann said he would take Lionel Mapoe to the Rugby World Cup if he was in Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer’s shoes. Mapoe was at the weekend named by Meyer as part of the wide group of players invited to both Bok training camps in Johannesburg and Cape Town, which will take place on May 3 and 31 respectively.
Mapoe, 26, has been one of the standout players who have taken the Lions to within sneezing distance of making the Super Rugby playoffs for the first time.
He again showed what he was capable of in the Lions’ 34-29 win over the Cheetahs at Ellis Park last Saturday. In the eight-try slugfest, Mapoe set up Ruan Combrinck with a wonderful offload.
He went on to score one of the tries of the weekend, bursting through tackles before sprinting 40m to dive in under the poles, his trademark shark fin celebration on display on his way there.
In the weeks the Lions had a defensive approach, and eked out wins over the Blues, Rebels and the Reds overseas, Mapoe was also up there in the tackle count.
“I would take him to the World Cup,” Ackermann said.
“He can play No 13, left and right wing. He is very versatile and I’m sure even if you put him at No 12, he’d play well there too. I definitely think he can be great coming off the bench or even starting.
“Depending on how you’d want to use him, he would lift the whole game if he came on off the bench.
“If you want to go with the more settled centres, he would add to the tempo in the second half but if you want to start him, he’ll still do a good job.
“Lionel is up there with the best No 13s, if you’re looking for a guy with X-factor. Guys like Juan de Jongh are also among the best, but Mapoe is in great form.
“He has worked extremely hard on his conditioning and it’s paying dividends for him. He is playing with a lot of confidence at the moment.”
“Obviously you’d have to look at all the franchises and see who is in form and where Mapoe would fit in. Each coach looks for certain things in certain positions,” Ackermann said.
“Even though everybody is pushing for Bok places in this World Cup year, Heyneke has worked with a certain group over four years and he will look at that group first. The purpose of those four years was to build a team with experience.
“Meyer has to think about whether the in-form guys are really better than the guys he’s worked with for four years or if they’re on the same level.”