JOHANNESBURG - There will be no disruptions or concerns regarding injuries as the Lions prepare for their trip to Bloemfontein to tackle the Free State Cheetahs this weekend.
The Lions were given a clean bill of health yesterday after their tough 22-19 victory over Western Province this past weekend and coach Ivan van Rooyen will have the luxury of selecting from his full team for Saturday’s Currie Cup encounter (kick-off 4.30pm).
Prop Carlu Sadie, who has been away enjoying his nuptials, should also be back at training this week.
In his stead, Springbok Ruan Dreyer has been packing down alongside Jaco Visagie and Sti Sithole for the past fortnight.
Dreyer, and the Lions’ scrum in general, had a tough time on Saturday against WP, and was pinged at that set-piece on several occasions for hinging, so while he has stepped up as admirable cover, he could nonetheless find himself on the bench this weekend.
The Lions will no doubt be working hard this week on their scrum. And although it faced a mammoth task against a Springbokladen WP pack, it must improve if the Joburgers are to use it as a weapon against a now desperate Cheetahs side – 40-13 losers to the Blue Bulls on Saturday night.
The one area the Lions will not to be concerned about, will be lineouts.
In spite of WP controlling proceedings up front, Marvin Orie and Co enjoyed supremacy at that particular set-piece, even snaffling possession away from their much more fancied opposition in that department.
Due to the belligerence of the match, the Lions’ maul hardly made an appearance against Province. Nevertheless, if the Lions once again enjoy their line-outs against the Cheetahs, as they did against WP, then Van Rooyen might be tempted to reintroduce it back into the playbook, especially if the forwards battle is more equal.
And that might be the difference between the two sides come Saturday.
Both the Lions and Cheetahs are often clumped together as playing a similar brand of rugby – peas from the same pod that enjoy running the ball at a high tempo.
If the Lions can outmuscle them, then perhaps it will give the Doornfontein-based side the upperhand in what is sure to be a game defined by pace.
For that reason, there will also no doubt be some emphasis placed on the Lions’ backline play.
They too had a difficult day at the office against WP, who shut them out of the encounter with a rock-hard defence.
Luckily, Van Rooyen can call on all of his backline players and in most probability it will remain the same with perhaps Morne van den Berg returning to the starting XV in place of scrumhalf Ross Cronje.
Springbok Cronje had a solid outing, so his reselection would not be unexpected, but Van den Berg’s playing style might be better suited to what is expected to be a high tempo encounter.
It will be the first time the two sides meet this season – the last encounter cancelled due to Covid19 – so both sides will not have an absolute idea of what to expect from each other.
Whatever Van Rooyen chooses on Thursday when he selects his matchday team, however, it will be one that is based on a full strength squad.
@FreemanZAR