Boks must front up against Lions ‘bullies’, says Mostert

Lock Franco Mostert is hopeful that it will be all hands on deck when it comes to the Springbok second row and he believes the hosts will need it because the tight five is where he thinks the British and Irish Lions will focus their efforts in the three Tests that start in a month’s time.

His fellow World Cup winners, RG Snyman and Lood de Jager, are both currently out injured. Snyman, apart from his fire-pit burns, was rehabbing from a rupture of his ACL ligament when he suffered another knee injury last month, while De Jager broke his tibia on his birthday on December 17, which also damaged his ankle and knee.

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Eben Etzebeth has also had recent injury problems, which leaves the indefatigable Mostert as the only World Cup lock who has been pretty much fit and well in the build-up to the massive series against the Lions.

“RG and Lood are working hard to get back and I hope the boys will be ready. Maybe next week they’ll even be able to train a bit,” Mostert said.

“Eben is fine now and there’s no extra pressure on me. I’m hopeful we can get a good couple of games together before the Lions series.

“During my time at Gloucester and at the World Cup I played against all those Lions locks and they will want to physically bully us. They’re going to try and take us on up front and take us out of our structure.

“Alun Wyn-Jones and Maro Itoje are world-class, the best in the UK, and it will be amazing to go up against them. Hopefully we are successful in our plans against them.”

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The 30-year-old former Lions star, who now plays for Honda Heat in Japan, said the Bulls’ shock hammering in the Rainbow Cup final last weekend, the first time South African players had seen international action in more than a year, was just one of those slip-ups that occasionally occured and he was confident the Springboks would be able to slot right back into their World Cup form.

“The Bulls were just down on the day and I don’t think you can take anything from the weekend. It was just an off day,” Mostert said.

“The Springboks are the best of the best and we are all straining for a spot in the 23 to play the Lions. We also have a lot of guys from overseas so we don’t need to change anything.

“Even us players from Japan, the rugby is getting stronger every year there with all the players from New Zealand and Tonga.

“We’re just working hard in the Springbok camp to make sure that we are all on the same page, like we were in 2019.”