Play-offs not in coach’s thinking
ACKERMANN: WE STILL HAVE TOUGH TEAMS TO MEET
Highlanders will give the Lions a severe test at Ellis Park.
The possibility of a spot in the Super Rugby playoffs is something which Lions coach Johan Ackermann has cleverly sidestepped in recent weeks. But despite narrowly going down to the Bulls last weekend, the Lions are in eighth position with 27 points on the combined Super Rugby standings and are only four points adrift of the sixth-placed Waratahs.
Which makes this weekend’s tough encounter against the fi fthplaced Highlanders at Ellis Park a tricky assignment.
“We haven’t addressed the play-off issue. It’s something we haven’t discussed, because we still have tough teams to play against,” insisted Ackermann.
“We still have the Cheetahs in Bloem, the Stormers at Newlands, the Highlanders and the Brumbies at home, who are both in great form, as well as defending champions the Waratahs.”
But after a controversial defeat at the hands of the Highlanders in Dunedin last year, the Lions will be charged up to take revenge, while also keeping in mind how the Otago outfit thrashed the Sharks 48-15 last weekend.
“I think if we start to think about play-offs it will be wrong,” said Ackermann.
“There’s a lot of hard work to be done. We can only control that and the rest will look after itself.”
The Highlanders are a team renowned for viciously attacking the breakdown and thrive from turnover ball, where captain and fullback Ben Smith holds a massive threat.
The Lions will today reveal whether flyhalf Elton Jantjies ( knee) is fit to play, while others like hooker Robbie Coetzee (calf) and centre Lionel Mapoe (knee) are expected to return after being ruled out of the Bulls clash.
Ackermann will also review his scrum options after they lost the edge last weekend as soon as props Jacques van Rooyen and Julian Redelinghuys were substituted.