Lions preparing for extended spell without influential Ruan Dreyer

The Lions are preparing themselves for an extended spell without influential tighthead prop Ruan Dreyer after he limped off the field early in their Challenge Cup draw against the Dragons at Ellis Park last week.

Dreyer is one of the few really experienced heads at the Lions and the former Springbok has been immense this season, forming a formidable front row with loosehead prop Sti Sithole and hooker PJ Botha.

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The Johannesburg franchise may now be forced to test their front row depth, after coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted that they were bracing themselves for bad news.

“We will have to scan first to see the extent. But knowing Ruan very well he’s not the kind of guy to come off the field 10 minutes into a game,” said Van Rooyen after the match.

“So we are not expecting a positive scan. He is walking and he is moving, which is sometimes a bad thing. With him leaving the field that early shows that it is relatively serious.”

The Lions however don’t have too much time to dwell on the blow as they ready themselves for a massive home Challenge Cup encounter against Stade Francais on Friday night.

Three points

After they managed to pick up three points from their draw against the Dragons, with the way the competition is structured, they will need to target a full house of points in their final home pool match, and then clinch a win on the road when they play the return fixtures in January.

“Without trying to sound arrogant we will have to beat Stade Francais (on Friday), and then we will have to beat Dragons away,” said Van Rooyen.

“We have played against Dragons in Wales already, so it won’t be a new thing for us. We know what to expect there and we know what we are going to be doing there.

“But Friday night (against Stade Francais) will be important and then when we play them again in mid-January, it will be important again.”

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With it being rumoured that the French sides tend to take weakened team’s on the road, the Lions will not know who to expect, but according to Van Rooyen that will help them out in the build up.

“The interesting thing about this competition is we don’t know what to expect in team selection and how they are going to play, and that makes it exciting,” explained Van Rooyen.

“It forces us to focus a lot on ourselves this week and prepare to play a really exciting game against Stade Francais. Apart from Willem (Alberts) who has played for them, and Andre (Warner) was there for a short stint, no one else has played them before.”