Potgieter roaring for Lions

 

Potgieter picked up some bone bruising on his leg in the Waratahs' win against the Hurricanes two weeks ago and is still not 100 per cent.

 

The South African's form and versatility this season has made him a vital part of the Waratahs pack and captain Dave Dennis said coach Michael Cheika would give Potgieter as much time off his feet as possible.

 

"He's just got a bit of bone bruising on his leg so another day or two off his feet and hopefully he'll be right to go on Sunday," Dennis said.

 

Hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau was also injured (abdominals) in the match but trained fully on Monday, while back-up hooker Tolu Latu has been ruled out for up to four weeks with ankle syndesmosis.

 

Beyond Polota-Nau, the Waratahs are short on experience at hooker, with Latu and his understudy Hugh Roach both in their first season of Super Rugby.

 

"He's [Roach] a very strong player, he wants to be involved in the game," fellow front-row foward Benn Robinson said.

 

"His scrummaging is coming along very well and we threw a few lineouts with him [on Tuesday] and he was throwing well, so I have a lot of faith and know he's going to do well if he plays."

 

The Lions are in 11th spot on the ladder but have the best scrum in the competition by some way.

 

They are also mentally tough, shrugging off a 23-0 half-time deficit against the Highlanders to score four second-half tries and come within a point of an upset win last weekend.

 

Marnitz Boshoff is also the competition's third-top point scorer.

 

Dennis said the Waratahs, who have not won two games in a row since round two, were well aware of the Lions' potential dangers.

 

"They're a strong attacking team and teams probably underestimated them a little bit in terms of what they're capable of," he concluded.