Lions have found new 'crashball' maestro
SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: Lions head coach Zacharia de Bruin revealed that new signing Franco Naudé will play a similar role in the team to that of Springbok centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg.
Naudé joined the Lions on loan from the Bulls in mid-February – the week after the Lions beat the Jaguares 25-16 in their first Super Rugby game of the 2019 season.
Much has been made of Naudé’s role in the Lions set-up – with the likes of Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe currently forming the first-choice centre combination for the Johannesburg-based team.
Naudé has been named among the reserves for the Lions Super Rugby Round Three clash against the Bulls at Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday.
De Bruin told a media scrum this week that Naudé, who stands at 1.88 metres and weighs 102 kilograms, is a similar player to Van Rensburg.
“We are very excited about Franco [Naudé],” De Bruin said.
“He is a bit of a trokkie [Janse van Rensburg] sort of profile,” De Bruin said.
The coach added that the Trans-Jukskei derby against the Bulls on Saturday is the perfect time to give Naudé an opportunity to show what he is capable of.
“He is a guy who needs a chance and I’m prepared to give him a chance straight away against his former teammates,” explained De Bruin.
Janse van Rensburg was a mainstay in the Lions team and made the centre position his own.
With a height of 1.85 metres and weighing in at 109 kilograms, he was hard to stop with ball in hand.
Janse van Rensburg left the Lions in 2018 after signing to play for Sale Sharks in England.
By Josh Isaacson
@isaacson_j
@rugby365com
