Cape Town - Can Willem Alberts turn back the clock and produce a vintage performance for the Lions against Stade Francais this afternoon?
Now 38, the former Springbok flank operates as a No 4 lock for the Johannesburg outfit these days, and does the hard yards in between resting up a bit when necessary.
Lions veteran Willem Alberts was all smiles upon his return to the Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris yesterday. Photo: Lions
But Alberts will surely fire up that diesel engine of his to have a full go at his former Paris club at the Stade Jean-Bouin today (3pm SA time kick-off).
He made 79 appearances for the Pink Army, and having been recalled to the starting line-up by coach Ivan van Rooyen yesterday, he will be keen to pull out all the stops for the South African side.
Players tend to lift their game when they face an old team, and Van Rooyen will be hoping that Alberts comes up with a busy display against a powerful Stade side boasting Springbok tighthead prop Vincent Koch and former grizzled Wallaby lock Sitaleki Timani.
To that end, Van Rooyen has brought in another tough customer in Jaco Kriel at openside flank, in place of youngster Jarod Cairns, to add a hard edge due to the injury-enforced absence of talented Junior Bok Ruan Venter.
Alberts will add his considerable frame to what will have to be another monumental scrummaging effort from the Joburgers, who dominated Munster at the set-piece last week, but still tasted a 33-3 defeat in Cork.
The front row of JP Smith, PJ Botha and Asenathi Ntlabakanye were outstanding at Musgrave Park, but with Koch at tighthead for Stade Francais, the home side will be determined to get the edge upfront.
The Lions will hope for a better outing on attack, following a few changes to the backline from the Munster clash.
Flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse has been ruled out with an ankle injury, which sees Gianni Lombard take over at No 10, while Van Rooyen has tweaked the back-three combination as well.
Ex-Bok fullback Andries Coetzee returns at No 15 for Quan Horn, who shifts to right wing in place of Stean Pienaar.
The Lions boss will be banking on Coetzee’s experience to provide much more calmness and direction to the back division that made a number of unnecessary mistakes against Munster.
Lombard has shown earlier in the season that he possesses all the necessary skills to be a force on attack too.
Good news for the visitors is that star young centre Henco van Wyk has been passed fit following a knee niggle, and the Junior Springbok ace will be out to make a big impression in one of rugby’s great arenas in Paris, where Stade Francais will be seeking revenge after a weakened side lost 30-12 at Ellis Park in December.
The Lions bench is packed with players who can make a difference, and one of the new weapons available is Blitzboks star JC Pretorius, who is in line for his senior debut after leaving the sevens fraternity a few weeks ago.
Lions Team
15 Andries Coetzee 14 Quan Horn 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Marius Louw (captain) 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Gianni Lombard 9 Morne van den Berg 8 Emmanuel Tshituka 7 Emile van Heerden 6 Jaco Kriel 5 Darrien Landsberg 4 Willem Alberts 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 PJ Botha 1 JP Smith.
Bench: 16 Michael van Vuuren 17 Rhynhardt Rijnsburger 18 Ruan Smith 19 Ruhan Straeuli 20 Sibusiso Sangweni 21 JC Pretorius 22 Andre Warner 23 Manuel Rass.
@AshfakMohamed