Photo Credit: Speedshots.co.za
Ivan van Rooyen, head coach of the Xerox Lions, addressed the media ahead of the first Carling Currie Cup match this weekend against the Tafel Lager Griquas in Kimberley @ 16h30.
When asked what they expect from Griquas, van Rooyen said that Griquas competed really well in Vodacom Super Rugby Unlocked. "There was a hand full of games where they, with a few minutes to go, was smack bang in it to win. Their players would also have learned from those experiences so we know that they take a lot of pride in being back at home and we know that they will come out guns blazing. So we made it very clear to our players what our expectations are for this weekend. We are looking forward to it.”
The Xerox Lions have last played the seventh of November against the Bulls at home in a game which they were unlucky to lose (25-30). van Rooyen was confident that the lack of action will not impact the Lions negatively today.
“We know we will have a nice tough battle in Kimberley but I must be honest, we really trained hard this week. We’ve got an expectation of ourselves to do well. And even though we didn’t play against the Cheetahs and the Pumas, we prepared as if we were going to bearing in mind the first was cancelled on match day and the second a day before so it was full training games."
van Rooyen said he was excited to have senior players available for the Currie Cup. "It’s nice to pick some senior players for the Currie Cup. Guys like Elton played two Currie Cup games in the last five years, Willems’ last Currie Cup game was in 2013. So there’s a lot of excitement in the group for the start of the Currie Cup. There are one or two new caps. We all grew up watching the Currie Cup."
“In terms of Roelof Smits’ inclusion, unfortunately, he was very unhappy with injuries since he joined us. It is very frustrating to get niggle upon niggle upon niggle and while you are able to run and catch a pass, you are never really ready to be picked for the team. We are really excited that Roelof managed to train for a few weeks without injury and he is looking good. He is physical enough to play seven and eight for us. I am very happy about his opportunity."