‘We’re developing nicely,’ says Lions boss ahead of Zebre URC clash

The Lions will have an extra spring in their step and an additional decibel to their roar when they run out against Zebre in Parma for their fifth round United Rugby Championship match on Saturday, with kick-off at 1.30pm.

Ivan van Rooyen’s team have made a stunning start to their 2024/25 campaign, notching up three wins so far – two at home and one on the road (against the Dragons in Newport last weekend) and now have a chance to make it four in a row.

They sit in third place on the points table with confidence high after their strong start, but they’ll be under a bit of pressure on Saturday to get the job done against a team they’d be favoured to beat.

Zebre are down in 15th position in the standings with just one win from four games, but if conditions are poor in Parma, with lots of rain expected, anything can happen. The Lions will then be forced into playing a tighter game, with more kicking, which they’re not used to, but scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys gave his assurance this week that the players would be able to adjust quite easily.

The good news is Zebre are not a team who like it tight so they, too, might struggle if it’s wet.

‘Nice that people talk about you’

Of course, Van Rooyen and Co will be hoping for some dry weather, and a chance to back up their win against the Dragons last week.

“As long as we can keep on doing what we do and keep on moving forward, I will take that,” said Van Rooyen about the position he and his team find themselves in.

“It’s nice that people talk about you, but it’s important for us just to keep our heads down and get better.

“Our philosophy is a little bit different. We select from within, we select juniors, so we are slightly young and inexperienced, but the team is working really hard together and we are developing nicely as a group.”

Squad depth

Indeed, several of the Lions’ lesser-known players have been in superb form in the URC, having grabbed their chance in the Currie Cup.

Jarod Cairns has become a key flanker, playing alongside captain Francke Horn, while Darrien Landsberg, Franco Marais and at the back Rynhardt Jonker, Erich Cronje and Nico Steyn have performed well. And then there are the likes of Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Rabz Maxwane and Sanele Nohamba and JC Pretorius, Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Ruben van Heerden, who’ve all performed well in recent times.

It’s also helped that the Lions have a few experienced campaigners who’ve even turned out for the Springboks, men such as Morne van den Berg, Quan Horn and Edwill van der Merwe.

It’s another big week for the Lions regarding their development and growth and should they also pick up a win this weekend to go four from four, they’d be well on their way to securing a first ever URC playoff spot later in the competition.