Lions ready for running, kicking game against Racing 92, says coach
We are going to stick to what worked for us, says Ricardo Loubscher
29 March 2023 - 17:32
byAthenkosi Tsotsi
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Lions backline coach Ricardo Loubscher. File phoro: DARREN STEWART/GALLO IMAGES
As the Lions brace for a Challenge Cup round of 16 encounter against French side Racing 92 on Saturday at Ellis Park (6.30pm), their backline coach Ricardo Loubscher says they will play to their strengths.
Teams often change their style of play in knockout games, which can work or go south. The Lions will be involved in their biggest game since moving to the northern hemisphere competitions.
They take on one of Europe’s traditional big teams Racing, who have two players from SA in their ranks, Trevor Nyakane and Warrick Gelant. They are expecting Springbok captain Siya Kolisi to join them after the Rugby World Cup.
Loubscher, who has coached in France at Stade Francais, expects Racing to play as they did against the France national team. “If you look at the way the French team plays, you can see that style is filtering down to the clubs,” said Loubscher on Wednesday.
“From our point of view, we are going to focus on ourselves but we know they are a dangerous side. We are expecting the unexpected, so we need to prepare for a massive kicking game and prepare for a team that’s willing to run from their own 22. It’s hard to prepare for that but we have to prepare for the running and kicking game,” he said.
Knowing what Racing will bring to the table, the Lions will not change their way of play, they will look to impose their strengths at Ellis Park on the weekend.
“You want to play to your strengths, the biggest mistake is when you get a playoff game and try to change and go away from your strength. We are going to stick to what worked for us in the last few games,” said the former Springbok.
“The big thing for us is to take that one step forward in terms of how we want to play, we have to make sure we force our strengths on them. We know they’re a team that’s off the cuff, they can create something out of nothing, so defensively, we have to make sure we handle that.
“They’ve got a long kicking game, how we are going to deal with that ... it’s just making sure our backfield is organised,” he said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Lions ready for running, kicking game against Racing 92, says coach
We are going to stick to what worked for us, says Ricardo Loubscher
As the Lions brace for a Challenge Cup round of 16 encounter against French side Racing 92 on Saturday at Ellis Park (6.30pm), their backline coach Ricardo Loubscher says they will play to their strengths.
Teams often change their style of play in knockout games, which can work or go south. The Lions will be involved in their biggest game since moving to the northern hemisphere competitions.
They take on one of Europe’s traditional big teams Racing, who have two players from SA in their ranks, Trevor Nyakane and Warrick Gelant. They are expecting Springbok captain Siya Kolisi to join them after the Rugby World Cup.
Loubscher, who has coached in France at Stade Francais, expects Racing to play as they did against the France national team. “If you look at the way the French team plays, you can see that style is filtering down to the clubs,” said Loubscher on Wednesday.
“From our point of view, we are going to focus on ourselves but we know they are a dangerous side. We are expecting the unexpected, so we need to prepare for a massive kicking game and prepare for a team that’s willing to run from their own 22. It’s hard to prepare for that but we have to prepare for the running and kicking game,” he said.
Knowing what Racing will bring to the table, the Lions will not change their way of play, they will look to impose their strengths at Ellis Park on the weekend.
“You want to play to your strengths, the biggest mistake is when you get a playoff game and try to change and go away from your strength. We are going to stick to what worked for us in the last few games,” said the former Springbok.
“The big thing for us is to take that one step forward in terms of how we want to play, we have to make sure we force our strengths on them. We know they’re a team that’s off the cuff, they can create something out of nothing, so defensively, we have to make sure we handle that.
“They’ve got a long kicking game, how we are going to deal with that ... it’s just making sure our backfield is organised,” he said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
A very different challenge awaits Cheetahs in cup tie against Toulon
Sharks suffer new loss as Abrahams heads to Lyon
GAVIN RICH: SA has so many layers in its rugby landscape that Ireland can only ...
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.