Lions undaunted by facing Bulls in wet weather

Gauteng's inclement weather is likely to make their task all the more difficult but the Lions still have every intention of raining on the Bulls’ parade at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The wet weather is expected to continue drenching the province into the weekend but the Lions refuse to be sagged by a gloomy disposition for their United Rugby Championship clash against their rivals.

They are well aware of the perils.

“If you play against the Bulls and you don’t pitch up it is going to be a hard day — especially if it rains until Saturday,” said tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye. “We are well aware of what’s coming. Our prep has been very good [in] the last two days.”

The area he is referring to is one dear to his heart — the battle for possession.

“We needed to patch up our set pieces. We know it is their strong point. It is our strong point too. But we pride ourselves on that as well. It is something we have really been focusing on [over] the past few days. You are testing yourself against probably the best scrummaging pack in the competition.”

The Bulls have certainly been digging up the turf on their opponents’ side of the scrum but it was not enough to suffocate the challenge of the Sharks in the capital last weekend.

It may give the Bulls greater cause to come out snorting on Saturday.

“We are under no illusions,” said Ntlabakanye. “We know what Loftus means to them. It is a tough place to play. Irrespective of the result against the Sharks, they’ll try to rectify their mistakes against us. We need to be at our best and play our rugby and that would make this weekend even better.”

He stressed that he does not see the Bulls as vulnerable after their defeat against the Sharks. “We are expecting a reaction. We have to stick to being ourselves.”

Though the Bulls did not deploy their maul much in their win over the Lions at Ellis Park a few weeks ago, forwards coach Barend Pieterse is expecting them to do so with greater regularity this weekend. The expected wet underfoot conditions may give the hosts more reason to keep their rivals close.

“Even if they are not close to your try line they always get a bit of purchase from their maul inside your half through penalties. It has always been a strength of theirs. Especially in this weather, this is an area where they want to go to,” said Pieterse.

Despite what the weather is likely to offer, Ntlabakanye and Pieterse are in agreement the Lions should try to stay true to their free-spirited identity. Pieterse said the Lions controlled the wet ball well when they needed to in their win over the Stormers last weekend.

That 30-23 win was uplifting. “After a win everything just feels better,” said the forwards coach. “Even after a few losses the mood has always been good in the camp. There's never been a stage where we said, ‘jis we have to get motivated’ or anything like that.

“We’ve had two good days of prep even if it was in the rain. The mood is very good at the moment.”