The Emirates Lions will host the Vodacom Bulls in Johannesburg on Saturday at 15:00 in Johannesburg, where they will be supporting CANSA care and support programmes for those affected by cancer through the 22nd edition of the popular Shavathon initiative.
The Emirates Lions will enter their Gauteng Derby against the Vodacom Bulls at Emirates Airline Park determined to make up for their heart-breaking 30-28 defeat in their last encounter in Pretoria and to alleviate the pressure on themselves to hop into the top eight, especially since every match will count now for playoff places. The Joburg-based team is currently in 10th place on the log with 24 points, trailing the ninth-placed Connacht only by points’ difference.
The Johannesburgers will also want to take full advantage of their home-ground advantage and return to the form that earned them three victories in a row before succumbing to their Gauteng rivals in their last outing. Two of those three victories were at home, against Zebre Parma and the Dragons respectively, while the other win was away against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban.
With four wins in nine matches so far in the tournament, Emirates Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen and his charges will know they have work to do to catch up with the pacesetters, and they will remain well within range with a victory this weekend.
The Vodacom Bulls, in turn, are only four points behind log-leaders, Leinster, on the standings and will be wary of the fact that a victory would keep them at the upper echelons of the table – as well as keep the pressure on the DHL Stormers at the top of the SA Shield – which is exactly where they want to be as the competition picks up pace.
With the Emirates Lions having come so close to a possible victory against the Vodacom Bulls last month, and only trailing their counterparts by six log points, while they also boast an impressive eight bonus points in nine matches, they will be highly motivated to make amends for the Loftus Versfeld disappointment.
They will have to be particularly effective on defence, as the Pretoria outfit have scored 324 points to their 258, but their defence has only been marginally better, meaning it could be another humdinger.
Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White said at a media event: “We must give ‘Cash’ [Ivan van Rooyen] some credit, he has done well with the conditioning of his team, they really get back up well. They are very good at understanding counterattacks because they do it so well. Their wingers are also good at closing their outside so well and so we will have to find a new way of getting through them,”
“One thing about them is that they are very good.”
“We are going to have to play well, almost our best rugby like it’s test rugby. The next two weekends are like trial runs for the big knockout games that are coming,”
“We have made one or two tweaks with our changes, not for any other we r reason but to continue learning who can play with whom because we are never going to have the same 23.”
Asked if the Lions were the surprise pick of the season, White said: “They have played well and together for a prolonged period, they have continuity and cohesion. They have managed to keep their squad together and Ivan van Rooyen is a conditioning expert so he probably knows how to keep his players fresh,”
“The longer you keep a group together, the better they play.”
Asked about the last matchup against the Lions and this trip to Johannesburg: “Sometimes you need those kinds of games (close results) to give the group a wake-up call. We let slip 21 points and there aren’t many teams you can give that amount of points and expect to win, so we will be better,”
“The ironic thing is we play really well against them at their ground which is probably better than most in the league. Who knows, this is probably the one game we need on the road. To be fair, we have a few guys who have played there and this will be like a home game for them.”
Teams:
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Marius Louw (c), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Hanru Sirgel, 5 Reinhardt Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 JP Smith. Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Erich Cronje.
Vodacom Bulls: 15 Devon Williams, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 David Kriel, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje (c), 4 Reinhardt Ludwig, 3 Mornay Smith, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp. Replacements: 16. Simphiwe Matanzima, 17. Akker van der Merwe, 18. Francois Kloppers, 19. Janko Swanepoel, 20. Marcell Coetzee, 21. Keagan Johannes, 22. Johan Goosen, 23. Mpilo Gumede.