Lions eye strong URC start in Wales despite heavy injury toll

The Lions will enter the United Rugby Championship (URC) at a disadvantage, with around 15 players sidelined by injury.

Most of them are expected to return before December, head coach Ivan van Rooyen confirmed, but despite the setbacks the squad is eager to get their new URC season underway. They had the ideal high-stakes warm-up in Saturday’s Currie Cup final at Ellis Park against Griquas.

The Johannesburg side will open their campaign next weekend away to Cardiff. While it is not unusual for the Lions to travel early, the absence of key players adds pressure on seasoned campaigners who carried much of the workload during the Currie Cup.

Van Rooyen is satisfied with the split pre-season his side completed and believes they are ready for the challenge.

“We worked really hard on the fundamentals, those deep basics, and on our game model around how we want to play,” the coach explained.

“The majority of the fit group played in the Currie Cup over the last two games, and we are really excited for the URC season ahead. We’ve experimented with the two groups that played locally, testing different attack and defence scenarios, and ticked some boxes where we felt we’ve grown. However, I don’t want to give away too much.”

The Lions will have little time to recover after the final. They regroup on Monday to review the match before flying out on Tuesday afternoon for Cardiff, where they will have a few training sessions before their opener.

According to Van Rooyen, starting well will be crucial. He feels the gap between the squad’s first, second, and third-choice options has narrowed, making them more competitive across competitions.

“Weather-wise, it should be good to tour early — it’s better than what you usually get in December and January. We’ll also be spending two weeks in Italy, which cuts down on our travel a bit," said the Lions coach.

"That should help us and is part of why we don’t mind giving certain players more minutes now.

“Last year the Currie Cup also assisted, and the guys were fit and ready when we started our campaign at home. Hopefully, it will have the same effect this time. By December, we expect most of the injured players to be back and ready.”

Van Rooyen also confirmed that tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye — who is dealing with a pending doping matter — will be available to tour if he is not selected by the Springboks.

Ntlabakanye started in the Lions’ Currie Cup final and remains a key figure in the squad.

“There is a process unfolding in the background with him,” Van Rooyen added. “But Asenathi is one of the most popular guys in the group and will be crucial to our campaign.”