The Lions celebrate beating the Stormers in December 2021 (Rooster)
It’s been over a year since the Lions beat a South African side in the United Rugby Championship (URC), and forwards coach Albert van den Berg reckons he’s now reached the point of being a “mental block”.
A 37-19 win over eventual champions the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on December 4, 2021 was followed by seven straight losses against South African rivals.
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The Lions are still well placed in the 2022/23 URC where they currently sit 5th in the table with five wins out of eight, but on Friday they travel to Durban to take on the Sharks, who are expected to field. bulk of the Springboks star for the clash.
It’s a daunting task on paper for the Lions, but the Sharks have been very inconsistent this season and sit 10th on record with just four wins out of seven.
“It’s definitely important to us,” Van den Derg said of the Lions’ record against South African franchises.
“We beat the Stormers in Cape Town, and after that, we haven’t won a game against a South African team. It’s a bit of a mental block when we play our own players, and we play the guys abroad. It’s like if our players were more free and just did it.
“The mental block is there with the South African teams, but it is not something that prevents us from fighting. We want to be competitive and stay in the race, and the Sharks this weekend are a good opportunity to show what we’ve prepared for. .”
Van den Berg has been encouraging the Lions to approach this game with positivity, focusing on the opportunity presented by playing against some of the best players on the international stage.
“I’ve told the guys that they should look forward to this game,” he said.
“It’s not often that you get the chance to play against the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Thomas du Toit, Lukhnayo Am and all the other Springboks they have.
“The only way you really measure yourself is when you play those guys, so we’re looking forward to the game.
“It’s a game where we can see our shortcomings and what works and what doesn’t work for us. It gives players a chance to see where they are in their careers.”
South African rugby fans won’t be used to seeing their teams battle it out just two days before Christmas, and Van den Berg acknowledged that he had come up with his own challenges this week.
“I played for six years in Japan, and in my first year it was quite a surprise to have our captain’s race on December 25,” Van den Berg said.
“It is new for us. The hard part and the challenge is the families.
“Your wife and kids are on vacation and the kids don’t understand why Daddy has to go to work. It makes it hard for our players, but it’s something I think we’ll get more used to as we stay.” the competition.
“It’s a change of mentality. We try to manage the players and give them more free time to spend with their families.”
In the other local derby on Friday, the Stormers will host the Bulls in a repeat of the 2020/21 final.
Teams:
sharks
to be confirmed
lions
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Rynhardt Jonker, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Ruan Venter, 7 Darrien Landsberg, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith
Substitutes: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 20 Jaco Kriel, 21 Andre Warner, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Stean Pienaar
Friday matches:
Sharks v Lions – 17:00
Storms vs Bulls – 19:15
