If ever the Lions wanted to measure whether they are genuine United Rugby Championship title contenders this season, they will get the toughest possible examination against Leinster in Dublin this evening (6.15pm SA time kick-off).
And it’s not just the fact that they are taking on Leo Cullen’s team at the home of Irish rugby, the intimidating Aviva Stadium, which is set to be sold out completely, with less than 500 tickets available a few days ago for the 51 700-capacity arena.
Cullen picked virtually his strongest possible team yesterday, loaded with top Irish internationals such as fullback Hugo Keenan, wing James Lowe, centre Robbie Henshaw and loose forwards Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier.
That’s not to mention the giant Springbok lock RG Snyman, who has been outstanding in recent weeks following his return from injury.
But that doesn’t mean that the Lions must wave the white flag before a ball is kicked in anger. They are also unbeaten like Leinster, having recorded victories against Ulster (35-22) and Edinburgh (55-21) at Ellis Park, and Dragons (23-19) and Zebre (10-9) away.
The Johannesburg outfit have their own strike-force who can place the hosts under pressure in every respect, and are also pushing for higher honours.
Some of them are already Springboks, such as fullback Quan Horn, wing Edwill van der Merwe and scrumhalf Morné van den Berg, while others are pushing hard for Test caps – like captain and No 8 Francke Horn, centre Henco van Wyk and tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen made the big call yesterday to bring back Kade Wolhuter at flyhalf ahead of Sanele Nohamba, who will play off the bench, while he has rewarded the incisive running of Rynhardt Jonker at inside centre, with Marius Louw among the replacements too.
Powerful No 3 Ntlabakanye has recovered from concussion and will give the Lions pack some serious impact in the scrums and tight-loose, although he will have to wait until the second half to get to grips with Ireland loosehead Andrew Porter, who is on the Leinster bench.
But with a 60% chance of rain in Dublin today – although it’s set to clear by kick-off – the Lions are anticipating slippery conditions, which is where Wolhuter’s educated boot will make a major difference in the territory battle.
The former Stormers prodigy will be keen to justify his coach’s faith in him in his duel with promising Leinster No 10 Sam Prendergast, while Richard Kriel’s inclusion at right wing instead of speedster Rabz Maxwane is also part of the plan to secure the high ball, with Kriel having previously been a fullback.
The Lions will have their hands full defensively in trying to keep the likes of Keenan, Louw and Henshaw quiet, but if the visitors’ forwards can at least achieve parity in the set-pieces and star flank JC Pretorius can disrupt Snyman, Van der Flier and Doris, they have the attacking weapons to pose a threat with ball-in-hand too.
“Something we want to work on as a team is finishing our opportunities when they arise,” Bok wing Van der Merwe said this week.
“Against a team like Leinster, you might only get one or two opportunities, and you have to capitalise when you do get those to score points and to put them under pressure.”
The Lions actually have a decent record against Leinster. They went down 21-13 in Dublin in 2022 and 39-36 in Johannesburg in 2023, and triumphed 44-12 at Ellis Park in April.
But can they stop Snyman and Co? It’s a big ask, and the main challenge will probably be utilising a percentage strategy for the conditions instead of their usual all-out attacking style.
If they can limit their mistakes and not give away easy points, they will give themselves a real chance of causing an upset...
Teams For Dublin
Lions: 15 Quan Horn 14 Richard Kriel 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Rynhardt Jonker 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Kade Wolhuter 9 Morné van den Berg 8 Francke Horn (captain) 7 Jarod Cairns 6 JC Pretorius 5 Reinhard Nothnagel 4 Ruben Schoeman 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 PJ Botha 1 Juan Schoeman.
Bench: 16 Franco Marais 17 Heiko Pohlmann 18 RF Schoeman 19 Ruan Delport 20 Renzo du Plessis 21 Sanele Nohamba 22 Marius Louw 23 Erich Cronjé.
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan 14 Andrew Osborne 13 Hugh Cooney 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 James Lowe 10 Sam Prendergast 9 Luke McGrath 8 Caelan Doris (captain) 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Max Deegan 5 Ryan Baird 4 RG Snyman 3 Rabah Slimani 2 Gus McCarthy 1 Michael Milne.
Bench: 16 Stephen Smyth 17 Andrew Porter 18 Thomas Clarkson 19 Brian Deeny 20 James Culhane 21 Cormac Foley 22 Ross Byrne 23 Charlie Tector.