Lions captain Odendaal wants Stormers to gasp for breath

Leadership is not something strange to new Lions captain and centre Burger Odendaal.

Having lead the Bulls with distinction before crossing the Jukskei last year to make Ellis Park his new home, Odendaal comes with a high pedigree.

However, making his debut as Lions captain on Saturday in the Rainbow Cup SA clash against the Stormers at Ellis Park, Odendaal faces a different challenge, namely trying to keep a team together that still needs to settle in the competition.

Odendaal warned that a team like the Stormers, who are hurting after two defeats, will always be a dangerous prospect, but indicated that the Lions see it as a great opportunity to stamp their authority on the game.

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“A big thing for us is that we know the guys from the Cape normally struggle to breathe in the thin air up here, so hopefully we can get a nice tempo going in the match,” said Odendaal.

Odendaal believed that because both teams are winless after two rounds, there’d be a little more oomph in the performance of not just the Stormers, but his Lions team as well.

“I think it will be a tough game this weekend,” admitted Odendaal.

“The Stormers also lost two nail-biting games so I believe both teams are going to be desperate to get the win,” he said.

“We have spoken to one another here at the Lions and agreed on how we have to fight for 80 minutes.”

Kickoff is 1.30pm.