Emirates Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen says he is under no illusions of the task that lies ahead of him and his team as they take on Irish side Munster in Round 7 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday evening at Thomond Park is at 21:35 (SA time).
As far as team selection goes, van Rooyen has gone with a new-look lock and centre combination since the Round 6 clash against Leinster which sees Ruben Schoeman partner with Ruan Delport. In the midfield, Marius Louw leads the side alongside the explosive Henco van Wyk.
WJ Steenkamp is in line for his first appearance in Lions colours since signing with the Johannesburg side at the beginning of the season.
Despite recent disruptions in the opposition’s management team, van Rooyen believes the former URC champions remain a quality outfit.
“We know that Munster are a quality team and are exceptional, especially in Limerick. They’ve shown most recently against the All Blacks XV what kind of quality they have.”
“The change in their management setup I’m sure will galvanise and bring their team together as they are a very proud, traditional European team,” he added.
The Emirates Lions mentor believes that Saturday’s outing at Thomond Park will probably be his side’s toughest test of the campaign so far.
“We know that it’s going to be really tough; it’s probably going to be the toughest game of the year for us so far. They would have felt unlucky to have lost that game against the All Blacks XV earlier this month.”
“We go into Saturday with a fair bit of confidence but also the reality of what lies ahead. We need to be more clinical and disciplined in what we want to do and how we want to do it. That being said, there’s real excitement about the game after the two weeks of preparation we’ve had, so we are looking forward to it,” he concluded.
Emirates Lions Match 23
1. Juan Schoeman
2. PJ Botha
3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye
4. Ruben Schoeman
5. Ruan Delport
6. Jarod Cairns
7. WJ Steenkamp
8. Francke Horn
9. Morne van den Berg
10. Kade Wolhuter
11. Edwill van der Merwe
12. Marius Louw (c)
13. Henco van Wyk
14. Richard Kriel
15. Quan Horn
Replacements
16. Franco Marais
17. Morgan Naude
18. Conraad van Vuuren
19. Reinhard Nothnagel
20. JC Pretorius
21. Sanele Nohamba
22. Tapiwa Mafura
23. Erich Cronje