Swys ready to step up
LIONS COACH: IT’S A BIG RESPONSIBILITY AND ALSO SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL
His team welcome the Bulls to Ellis Park next weekend.
He knows he is stepping into big shoes, but Lions Super Rugby coach Swys de Bruin is champing at the bit. De Bruin shed light this week on his added responsibilities having taking over from the departed Johan Ackermann after previously acting as attack and backline coach.
“It’s a big responsibility and also some big shoes to fill but I’m hugely excited and fortunately I’ve been in the set-up for five years and know pretty much what’s going on here,” he said.
“But it is a fact that there will be big expectations after the team has done so well over the last few seasons.”
De Bruin also believes the competition will be much tougher after being reduced to 15 teams with all the SA teams competing in one conference.
“We don’t play the Rebels, while with the Force and a few other teams not there you can’t rely anymore on those so-called easier games and those could easily amount to about 25 points,” said De Bruin.
“Also, all the other SA teams have improved a great deal and there could be very little to separate them.
“But we will stick to our winning recipe and what has worked for us in the past.”
The Lions will name mix-andmatch combinations for next weekend’s warm-up game against the Bulls at Ellis Park ahead of their opener on February 17 against the Sharks at Ellis Park.
“At this stage we are not really focusing too much on the Sharks game, but rather on getting everybody in the best shape possible while a few of our overseas players must still return,” he said.
De Bruin said they will have a fairly good idea what their final squad should look like once they have played the Bulls.
“I think we have to submit our final squad by the 4th or 5th of February,” he said.
The long-term injury suffered by Eben Etzebeth has put conditioning back in the spotlight before this year’s Super Rugby campaign. While there’s hope that the Springbok stand-in skipper will be back by April, the nature of his injury gives cause for concern.
Etzebeth has a shoulder and back injury.
Having two afflictions at the same time gives an indication of the wear and tear he’s had to go though over the past few years.
Our top players are playing far too much rugby.
It was therefore interesting to take note of the Lions’ and Bulls’ pre-season programmes over the last few weeks.
Earlier this week, Lions coach Swys de Bruin told how he’s going to rest some stars for next weekend’s warm-up against the Bulls.
Notably, that game is the only competitive match scheduled for them. On paper, it looks like the Lions will go into their season undercooked.
But – and I’m hardly a conditioning expert – a thing I’ve picked up as a casual observer is that there’s no right or wrong answer to a squad’s fitness plan.
The Lions have numerous key players only returning now from overseas commitments.
Elton Jantjies, Lionel Mapoe and Franco Mostert have all been involved in Japan’s Top League play-offs.
Additionally, powerful centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg has been starring for England’s Sale Sharks while upcoming tighthead Johannes Jonker has been employed as a medical joker for French giants Montpellier.
In fact, regardless of the disputed intensity of rugby in Japan, Jantjies and Mostert also come off a long Springbok season.
And the serious injuries sustained by Whiteley and Jaco Kriel – especially after their previous stellar fitness records – do suggest that their workload over the past three years had caught up with them.
It makes sense then to give them less-intense pre-seasons.
Yet former Bok coach Heyneke Meyer was always at pains to say that it’s actually better to just rest players for one to two weeks, otherwise match fitness is affected.
So there are risks involved in the Lions’ planning.
In contrast, John Mitchell’s Bulls have four matches planned as they get used to the New Zealander’s new coaching approach.
They certainly won’t be undercooked but will they be overworked by mid-campaign?
That’s why there’s no right or wrong.