— Cape Town If the Lions believed that the Ospreys were easy to beat in last year’s United Rugby Championship, they will have to change their thinking prior to Saturday’s match in Swansea (8.35pm SA time kickoff).
Last season, the Johannesburg club defeated Ospreys by a score of 45-15, scoring seven tries, but there were important mitigating factors for the Welsh club.
In addition to playing at Ellis Park for the first time, the most of their top Test players were participating in the Six Nations at the time.
All of George North, Justin Tipuric, Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard, Tomas Francis, and Scott Baldwin did not play in last March’s match, and they will be eager to repay Ivan van Rooyen’s Lions on their home turf.
The visitors will be without three seniors from that spectacular performance: centres Burger Odendaal, Wandisile Simelane, and blindside winger Vincent Tshituka, all of whom have moved on to different teams.
However, the majority of tonight’s other starters participated, and they are certain they can defeat the Ospreys once more.
The greatest challenge for Van Rooyen’s team will be to earn enough possession at the lineouts and breakdowns against Jones, Beard, and Tipuric, while the front row of Nicky Smith, Scott Baldwin, and Tomas Francis are all seasoned internationals.
In the Lions pack, however, there are plenty “grinders” like as Sti Sithole, PJ Botha, Ruben Schoeman, and Sibusiso Sangweni who will not take a step back.
This week, forwards coach Albert van den Berg stated that the big men have worked diligently to correct their mistakes from last week’s 31-15 loss to the Bulls at Ellis Park.
“It was merely the result of individual errors, such as the cheap penalties we conceded in the second half. “We focused on a few technical aspects, particularly in scrums and lineouts, to ensure that everyone knows and executes their jobs,” the former Springbok lock stated.
Regarding the Ospreys, we’ve handled the issue, and we have a training session scheduled for today where we will go through it, and everyone is aware of their roles. Then, we will determine whether we can convince them to execute it against the Ospreys.
“Last year they came to play us during the Six Nations, so we were fortunate not to face any of their star players.
“Coming across (to Wales), they are all accessible this time. We viewed them, completed our homework, studied the videos, and were well-prepared. It’s a chance for our guys to demonstrate their abilities against them.”
If the Lions can at least match the Ospreys in the battle for possession, their backline will be able to cause problems for the opposition.
Halfbacks Sanele Nohamba and Gianni Lombard are devastating with the ball at their feet, as are their wingers. Edwill van der Merwe and Quan Horn has the agility and speed to avoid the defense.
Teams For Cardiff
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy 13 George North 12 Michael Collins 11 Keelan Giles 10 Jack Walsh 9 Rhys Webb 14 Luke Morgan Eight Morgan Morris Seven Justin Tipuric (captain), six Dan Lydiate, five Alun Wyn Jones, four Adam Beard, three Tomas Francis, two Scott Baldwin, and one Nicky Smith.
Bench: 16 Dewi Lake 17 Garyn Phillips 18 Tom Botha 19 Rhys Davies 20 Will Griffiths 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams 22 Jac Morgan 23 Joe Hawkins.
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee 14 Edwill van der Merwe 13 Zander du Plessis 12 Marius Louw 11 Quan Horn 10 Gianni Lombard 9 Sanele Nohamba Eight Francke Horn, seven Emmanuel Tshituka 6 Sibusiso Sangweni 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain) 4 Ruben Schoeman Three Ruan Dreyer two PJ Botha 1 Sithole Sti
Bench: 16 Jaco Visagie 17 JP Smith 18 Ruan Smith 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren 20 Ruan Venter 21 Morné van den Berg 22 Jordan Hendrikse 23 Sango Xamlashe.