Blair backs South African stars to roar in Lions’ den
Edinburgh enter the Lions’ den in Johannesburg today and have drafted in a few big beasts of their own as they seek to end their South African mini-tour with a win.
An all-new front row comprising Pierre Schoeman, Stuart Mcinally and WP Nel has been picked for the match at Ellis Park, while another Scotland international forward, Grant Gilchrist, comes in at lock.
The backs are strengthened by the inclusion of Darcy Graham and Henry Immelman, with the latter’ s selection at full back meaning em ilia nob off el li switches to the wing.
Two of the front three are South African-born and bred, as head coach Mike Blair looks to fight fire with fire at the sc rum – and he expects them to rise to the occasion.
“There is definitely extra motivation from the South Africa players,” said Blair. “Not just Schoemy. Jaco [van der Walt] being on the bench against his old team, we have WP in there, we have Henry Immelman as well. I think there is always an extra bit of motivation because they want to show their country of birth what they have been doing.
“Some will be playing in front of their families, some of them who haven't seen their families in a wee while .[ lu an] de bruin' s family has also come up to see him, so extra motivation.”
Edinburgh were hugely impressive in beating the Sharks in Durban, becoming the first Northern Hemisphere side to win in south africa in the United Rugby Championship.
The difficulty increases this weekend because the match takes place at altitude and the squad visited the stadium yesterday to get a feel of how the conditions might affect them.
Ellis Park is one of rugby’s iconic venues and its rarefied atmosphere tends to make the ball fly a bit further. Blair joked that 18-stone prop Nel had dropped a goal from halfway during training, but the coach is alert to the opportunities available to the kickers.
“The furthest kick at go ali saw was from 61 metres,” he said, “and henry was kicking the ball a long way. But it is about creating time for these guys to kick the ball a long way out of hand, so they can execute those kicks. And likewise, we’ve got to not give Lions time to get their long kickers into the game.”
Asked if he was concerned about the strength of the Lions pack, Blair pointed to his own muscle men, withmc in ally, n el and Gilchrist all flying in this week, and sc hoe man fresh after sitting out the Sharks game.
“We’re fortunate we’ve got four of internationals back in the front five, so we believe it is an area we will be able to put some pressure on the Lions, because we’ve got some experience and talent and size there as well ,” said blair who is acutely aware the opponents also boa st a useful backline.
“They’ve got a strong scrum, similar to Sharks, but they’ve got a real ability to strike and transition ball, their back three players in particular. if anything goes loose they’re strong in that counter-attack and turnover ball.”