Lions captain Horn's take on 'weakened' Bulls
SPOTLIGHT: The United Rugby Championship resumes this weekend, and so will the local rivalries starting on Saturday when the Bulls host the Lions at Loftus Versfeld.
Dubbed the ‘Jukskei derby’, the two Gauteng rivals dished out some memorable clashes in the past, and no love will be lost this weekend when they lock horns once more.
The Bulls historically had the upper hand in this fixture, losing just once to the Lions in the URC.
The hosts from Pretoria recalled marquee signing Handré Pollard from the Boks, with their Test against Wales falling outside of the international window.
However, they are still missing the likes of Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Ruan Nortjé and Gerhard Steenekamp, who remained with the national team.
The other missing player is Jan Hendrik-Wessels, who is still serving an eight-week ban following the testicle-grabbing incident against Connacht.
The Lions are missing two players in Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Morne van den Berg, who stayed with the Boks for their trip to Cardiff.
When Lions captain Francke Horn was asked if this is his team’s best chance of getting a win over their provincial neighbours with all their missing players, he rubbished claims that they are a weaker team and praised the Bulls’ depth without their big-name players.
The article continues below…
“You can have a look at it [the Bulls missing some of their Boks], but if you look at their squad, they possess quality players who played all over the world,” Horn said.
“Some of them also have international experience and played quite a few games leading up to this weekend.
“I won’t say they’re a weaker team. They would’ve also prepared well the last three weeks on what they want to do and how they want to execute.
“And from our side, we focussed on how we’re going to stop their onslaught and what we want to force upon them.
“It’s a big game we desperately want to win, and from their perspective, they would like to do the same.
“The Bulls will be up for it and put on a proper performance.”
The Lions had a poor start to their URC campaign, losing their opening three games before clinching consecutive wins against the Scarlets and Ulster.
A win would leapfrog them ahead of the Bulls and put their season firmly back on track.
Whilst that is the main goal, it’s not the only motivation, as bragging rights over their neighbours would also be something they would want, and the Johannesburg-based side prepared well to do so, according to captain Horn.
The article continues below…
“We came close [to beating the Bulls], especially at Loftus [Versfeld] before.
“We reviewed those matches we saw where the opportunities went astray, where we could’ve clinched the result.
“It is about Gauteng [province] bragging rights. You get two chances, and you want to take them both.
“The preparation went well, and the [team] mindset is where it should be, but I have no doubt that the Bulls did the same during the break.
“It will be a cracker and a big physical game, and everyone in the team is up for it.”
NEW IN THE APP: Official World Rugby Rankings hub! Compare team rankings side-by-side, with data going back 20 years.
Download the RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!
