Clarity, composure key as Lions forced to change for Bulls URC clash

Clarity in their plan and composure on the field are going to be key for the Lions if they are to break a 10-game losing streak against South African sides in the United Rugby Championship (URC) when they face the Bulls at Loftus on Saturday afternoon.

This is according to assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher, who believes their simplified game plan will be enough to challenge their Highveld neighbours, in what is a massive game for both sides.

A loss for either will be a hammer blow for their hopes; the Lions of making the top eight and a quarterfinal place, and the Bulls in their quest for a top four place and home knockout, so both teams will be desperate to win.

Simplified plan

“There must be clarity around our plan. We must have composure on-field and also in terms of our discipline to stick to our plan. Over the last few weeks, we have been really working hard on our attack to create the right opportunities and to finish them off,” explained Loubscher.

“We’ve simplified our plan. There is less info to make sure there is clarity regarding how we want to play the game and our approach. In alignment between the coaches and the players, I think we really took a step forward.

“It is just about being patient. We can see the positives going forward, if we stick to those things.”

Momentum

Over the past weekend the Lions snapped a five game losing streak in the URC with a morale-boosting 35-24 win over the Glasgow Warriors and they will be keen to take that momentum into the Bulls game.

What will give the Lions further confidence was their attack finally coming right as they managed to take a number of chances that they created to run in five tries for the bonus point, and they will hope to continue finishing off chances against the Bulls.

“We had a look at (our previous) games and it came down to execution and taking our chances,” said Loubscher.

“We saw against the Sharks that we created the right opportunities, so there has been a big focus on our side the last week or two to make sure we nail our opportunities. Once you take your chances, whether it is three points, or whether it is an attacking opportunity, it will be a different ball game.”

Meanwhile, the Lions have been forced to make two key changes to their side after last week’s match against Glasgow.

Jaco Kriel (injury) and Ruan Dreyer (suspension) miss out, but veteran Willem Alberts though returns at lock.

The match at Loftus Versfeld kicks off at 4.45pm.

Lions: Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Manuel Rass, Marius Louw (capt), Edwill van der Merwe, Gianni Lombard, Sanele Nohamba, Francke Horn, Ruan Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka, Ruben Schoeman, Willem Alberts, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, PJ Botha, JP Smith. Bench: Morne Brandon, Rhynardt Rijnsburger, Ruan Smith, Ruan Delport, Jarod Cairns, Morne van den Berg, Rynhardt Jonker, Andries Coetzee