Lion rookies not overawed
The Lions will field an entire front row of Super Rugby rookies against the very powerful Cheetahs scrum, but coach Johan Ackermann believes there is no need for his players to be overawed.
Julian Redelinghuys, Robbie Coetzee and Schalk van der Merwe (who joined the Lions from the Cheetahs) will face the biggest test of their brief careers when the Lions head to Bloemfontein on Saturday for the season-opener.
Up against them will be a starting front row featuring Springboks Coenraad Oosthuizen and Adriaan Strauss (as captain), along with Caylib Oosthuizen – who ironically first made his mark with the Lions in Johannesburg before moving to Bloemfontein.
And then they have the seasoned Ryno Barnes and another Bok in Trevor Nyakane waiting on the bench.
"It will be a test [for us], they do have a lot of experience there [the front row] and have been together for a few years now," Ackermann told this website.
"That continuity will certainly help them."
However, the Lions mentor was "confident" they will get their own ball and will be able to play from the scrums.
"Hopefully that [the scrums] won't be an issue for us.
"However, the most important aspect is that on the day the players must perform.
"We won't go into the game saying: 'Wow, this is a Springbok front row.'
"We can't go into the game thinking we are not good enough – the guys must believe in themselves and ensure we get our possession from the set piece."
Ackermann said the key for his team this week is that go out and play an exciting brand of rugby.
"We do have that kind of team and type of players, so we want to go out and make the people proud of the way we play."
He said they may change some things in their game against the Stormers next week, but they certainly want to give the ball air where they can in Bloemfontein this week.
"That is the way we play," he said, adding: "However, in this game we have to ensure our set pieces are good enough and that we look after our possession."
By Jan de Koning
