Lions young guns face tough test against in-form Rebels

AFTER the promising showing by the bunch of Lions youngsters last week, assistant coach Neil de Bruin is hoping the team can kick on when they host the Rebels at Ellis Park in a round five Super Rugby match tomorrow.

A very different Lions side, with a number of exciting former Under20 stars picked in favour of several big-name players, ran out against the Jaguares last week and delivered a quality performance as the Lions hit back following back-to-back defeats.

And now the Lions have added another exciting former SA U20 star, fullback Tyrone Green, to the backline, where he will join Wandisile Simelane and Franco Naude, who will play for the second week in a row in the midfield.

De Bruin, who is in charge of the Lions’ attack, said it was only right that Green, who also starred for Wits in the Varsity Cup, got his chance.

“He’s another youngster who’s come through our system. He’s been working hard and deserves this opportunity,” said De Bruin. “He’s excited and raring to go. We’re also excited to see him go and see if we can build on the bit of momentum we created last week.”

De Bruin added he was also looking forward to seeing the NaudeSimelane centre partnership tested by a different team. “I hope they kick on this week, having played for the first time together last Saturday.

“They’re a very exciting combination; there’s a bit of grunt and a bit of flair on the outside. It’s going to be nice to see them when they really click. But this is a team game and everything that happens at the back depends on what ball they get from the forwards.”

And what a test awaits the likes of Naude, Simelane, Green and the recalled Ruan Combrinck, and the experienced halfback pairing of Ross Cronje and Elton Jantjies. The Rebels have, after all, been in superb form this season, winning three out of three, with their backs especially causing plenty of problems.

While acknowledging that key halfbacks Will Genia and Quade Cooper are very much the heartbeat of the Rebels team, Cronje said the Lions would make a big mistake if they focused solely on the duo.

“The two of them are a classy pairing,” said Cronje about Genia and Cooper, who arrived in Joburg later than some of their teammates after they had to attend an Australian team camp ahead of the World Cup later this year.

“That won’t affect them at all. They’re experienced guys who have a history. They know how to manage a game, when to speed things up and slow things down... and they’ve both got some magic about them. But we can’t only focus on them; it’s a 15-man game.”

Meanwhile, wing Aphiwe Dyantyi again misses out because of injury, while Sylvian Mahuza, one of the stars against the Jaguares, tweaked a hamstring this week and thus also misses out. It is also expected that flank Cyle Brink will be back for the Lions following their trip to play the Sunwolves in Singapore next week.

Kick-off tomorrow is 3.05pm.