Lions to avoid Challenge Cup 'stress' after Loftus heroics?
REACTION: Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen knows that he faces a tricky juggling act over the next few weeks.
The team from Johannesburg produced an excellent performance on their way to a 43-33 United Rugby Championship victory over the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday.
It’s three wins on the trot for the Lions in that competition, but now they will have to turn their attention to the Challenge Cup, where they will face Benetton (December 6) at home before they head to England for a match against Newcastle (December 13).
The Lions will face the Stormers in Cape Town in the URC when they return from England, which could mean that several frontline players will remain in South Africa to prepare for that derby match.
After their Cape Town trip, they also have an away fixture against the Sharks in early January.
“I think you can prioritise two [competitions],” Van Rooyen told reporters after Saturday’s win.
“Obviously, it puts a bit of stress on our squad.
“The challenge is to go to Newcastle, where two weeks ago it was already frozen with snow. To what extent do you want to put travel stress on the players, and to what extent do you want to go from 25°C to -5°C?
“To what extent do you want to expose players and then come back and play the Stormers away?”
Van Rooyen added: “I think four out of our six games coming up are away from home, and that obviously brings stress as well, so it’s important for us to manage bodies and to manage loads.
“That’s why we had a big three weeks leading up to this [Bulls] game, because the next time we can tweak a little bit in terms of volume is only in February.
“I think we have shown [in the past] that we use the squad a little bit in the EPCR, and we do believe the squad is better prepared this year than last year.
“At home, we will want to keep momentum and build something special there and see if we can find a way to get wins in Newcastle and Perpignan [January 17].
‘It’s special’
The Lions climbed above the Bulls into seventh spot in the URC standings with that win at Loftus Versfeld.
They outscored their opponents by six tries to five and showed some grit on defence when it really mattered.
“I am really proud of the effort. We really worked hard over the last month to get to a level where we can compete,” said Van Rooyen.
“The last win [in Pretoria] was in 2023 with a very special performance from Sanele [Nohamba], so I am really happy for the win and happy for the guys who have worked really hard.
“It’s special.”
