Captain's run at Newlands
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Duane Vermeulen knows that he will have to be at his best if he is to get the better of Lions skipper and No.8 Warren Whiteley at Newlands.
Both captains will have key roles to play from the back of the scrum when the Lions face the Stormers in a bid to keep their feint play-offs hopes alive this weekend, and Vermeulen will certainly have his hands full keeping Whiteley quiet in Cape Town.
It is the last game of the regular season for the Lions, who can sneak into the knock-out phase of the competition with a bonus-point win assuming some other results go their way, so they will be holding little back when Whiteley leads them out on Saturday.
Like many people Vermeulen has been impressed with the way the Lions have played this season, pointing to the mentorship of coach Johan Ackermann as a key factor in their nine wins from their 15 games so far.
"They are a well-coached side, I think Johan Ackermann has done an unbelievable job with that group of players and it is a young group who are keen to play for each other.
"You can see it in the way that they play, they express themselves on the field and that is exactly what they will do on Saturday," he said.
Both Whiteley and Vermeulen have proven to be inspirational leaders for their respective teams this season while shining in the same position.
Springbok incumbent Vermeulen has imposed himself physically as usual while providing a significant threat at the breakdown, while Whiteley has impressed with his speed and work-rate which has produced the highest tackle-count in the competition of 217 which is 36 more than his nearest competitor.
Vermeulen said that it is hard not to be impressed by a player like Whiteley who clearly leads from the front.
"He is an exceptional player, he is a guy that never seems to tire. He is happy to lead a good team that follows him, he is a good leader and he runs out in front," he said.
The Stormers captain has also been impressed with the two Lions flanks this season, who will surely present a stern match-up for the Stormers Springbok duo of Schalk Burger and Siya Kolisi.
"Warwick Tecklenburg and Jaco Kriel have also been exceptional this year and as a combination they work really well together," he said.
Despite his admiration for what the Lions have achieved to date, Vermeulen said that he is focused on his team and what they need to do in order to win the South African conference and secure a home semifinal.
"They are coming down to Newlands with a definite gameplan and way they want to play and they want to win.
"We also want to end top of the conference and you are working and striving for that home semifinal, but we will take it game by game.
"The biggest thing for us to is to focus on the way that we play and not on the way that they play," he added.
By Michael de Vries
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