Lions under pressure against quality Stormers team in URC derby

For the second week in a row the Lions face a very tough match on the road against a Springbok laden team when they take on defending URC champions the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday night.

The Lions are coming off a chastening 37-10 defeat against the Sharks in Durban last week after the home side were inspired by their national stars, and the visitors are expecting more of the same against the Stormers this weekend.

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It has also been a disheartening run against SA opposition in the URC for the Lions that has seen them lose their last eight local derbies and it will take a huge upset for them to turn that around against an in-form Stormers side.

“We can feel the difference when we play South African teams in terms of physicality and just the class, so there will be a similar pressure (this week) when we play against a Springbok-laden Stormers team,” admitted Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen.

“There is not much time to fix everything (that went wrong against the Sharks), but we have to sort it out.

“It will be the same challenge for us this week. We are expecting a counter-attacking game and a good set-piece (battle). We have to make sure we are ready for the game.”

Injury crisis

The Lions also face a mounting injury crisis that could see a very inexperienced forward pack fronting up against a powerful Stormers pack.

Experienced prop Ruan Dreyer was already ruled out of the Stormers clash before the Sharks game, but after the past Friday’s match the Lions had lost prop Sti Sithole to a knee injury, hooker PJ Botha to a broken nose and lock and captain Reinhard Nothnagel to an ankle injury.

All three players are unlikely to feature against the Stormers and with the Lions unfortunately not having a lot of depth, it means that some young and inexperienced players could find themselves opposite Springbok stars like Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe.

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“The replacements will be young, but what an opportunity for these guys. This is why we have various systems and a scrum system in place, for situations such as this,” said Van Rooyen.

“It’s obviously not nice for the injured players, but it is now an opportunity for someone else. They will probably be 21 or 22 years old.

“This is an opportunity for some young guys to play against the superstars of the world, to see where they are in their careers and what they can potentially become.”