‘No panic’ as Lions ring changes
BIG CHANGES: OUT GO SEVEN LIONS AFTER BULLS LOSS
De Bruin excited about young talent at his disposal.
The Lions are not yet at panic stations, according to coach Swys de Bruin, after he made wholesale changes to his side yesterday ahead of their Super Rugby clash against the Jaguares at Ellis Park tomorrow.
Players who lost their places in the team included wings Aphiwe Dyantyi and Ruan Combrinck, centres Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe, scrumhalf Nic Groom, lock Stephan Lewies and No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani.
“It’s easy to say that it’s just rotational, but sometimes players lose form and then it’s a good chance to pick other players,” De Bruin said.
“But it’s a tough job when you have 45 players in a group and there’s only place for 15 and eight from the bench.”
After losing their last two matches, De Bruin admitted he would have liked more points in the table, but they had put the hammering they got from the Bulls behind them.
“This is no panic at this stage, and we can’t dwell too much on the past in this game,” he said.
“It’s almost like last Saturday night, you couldn’t sleep, then on Sunday after church you started feeling better, and then on Monday you had to be positive and we all had to face one another.
“But if you dwell too much on the past, it’s a killer.”
Some of the new faces in the side included centres Franco Naude and Wandisile Simelane, lock Ruan Vermaak and flank Vincent Tshikuta.
Older faces in the team included Sylvian Mahuza and Courtnall Skosan, and scrumhalf Ross Cronje, who had been recalled.
In positional changes, Kwagga Smith was moved from flank to No 8, and Rhyno Herbst from No 4 lock to No 5.
“I’m very excited about the juniors, but when I say ‘juniors’ – they’re not really juniors. They’re young guys who are going to play senior rugby, and I always believe when you are good enough you are old enough,” De Bruin said.
“But the guys know where they stand. There’s no unhappy players in our camp, and the guys who are not playing will work hard. They know that.”