‘We owe ourselves and our fans a good game,’ says Lions skipper Kriel

The Lions believe they are ready to break their dreadful losing streak and pick up their first win of the year in the United Rugby Championship when they face Cardiff at Ellis Park on Sunday afternoon (kick-off 4pm).

The home side have had a tough run, losing all four of their local derbies and then going down despite a spirited performance in their last outing against Leinster in Ireland last time out and they are now ready to break that streak in their first home game against overseas opposition.

“I really believe if we go through our processes and every guy does his job the way he should, the win will come and the team will grow,” said Lions captain Jaco Kriel.

“So the win is important, we would really like to get a positive result at Ellis Park. I feel we haven’t been playing well here so we owe ourselves and our supporters a good game.”

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The Lions have been boosted by the return of lineout caller Reinhard Nothnagel from injury, while the Tshituka brothers Vincent and Emmanuel are also back after missing the Leinster clash due to an issue with their travel documents.

“Having Nothies (Reinhard Nothnagel) back at five lock is really good for us. I think Ruben (Schoeman) has been doing a fantastic job covering that position as a four lock out of position,” said Kriel.

“But our lineouts haven’t been the best lately, so we are really glad to have Nothies back to run the lineout. He is a lineout specialist and with that we expect our lineouts to be better than they have been in our previous few games.

“To have the Tshituka brothers back is also really good, their work rate is unbelievable and the vibe that they bring to the team is great.”

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In the match the Lions will probably aim to use their scrum, which has been their biggest weapon so far this season, to get them on the front foot and give them good field position that they can use to pick up points against Cardiff.

“I think any team will obviously benefit from a dominant scrum. We know we are in a good place at the moment but we also know the scrum is a humbling thing. So it won’t come by itself, we still have to work for it inch by inch,” said Lions prop Carlu Sadie.

“I think the scrum is a weapon, especially if you want to get on the front foot for the backs and even if you are chasing three points in a game. So everyone knows how important the scrum is if you use it right and that will be a big focus point for us.” 

Lions: Quan Horn, Stean Pienaar, Wandisile Simelane, Burger Odendaal, Edwill van der Merwe, Jordan Hendrikse, Morne van den Berg, Francke Horn, Vincent Tshituka, Jaco Kriel (capt), Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruben Schoeman, Carlu Sadie, Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole. Bench: PJ Botha, JP Smith, Ruan Dreyer, Ruan Venter, Emmanuel Tshituka, Nico Steyn, Manny Rass, Tiaan Swanepoel