Alberts to keep 'Big Joe' benched
The Lions, fresh from their impressive come-from-behind 23-22 Super 14 win over the Cheetahs at the weekend, received a timely boost ahead of their Round Two encounter with the highly-rated Blues at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Lions, fresh from their impressive come-from-behind 23-22 Super 14 win over the Cheetahs at the weekend, received a timely boost ahead of their Round Two encounter with the highly-rated Blues at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Lions coach Eugene Eloff, who will stick to his stated intention of easing Springbok Joe van Niekerk back off the bench, has revealed the burly loose forward Willem Alberts could be back to face the New Zealand tourists.
With no new injuries and the return of the 23-year-old Alberts, Eloff has the luxury of using his veteran Bok loose forward, Van Niekerk, as an impact player again.
Van Niekerk was impressive as second-half replacement against the Cheetahs last Saturday, after having finally overcome the nagging back injury that ruled him out of World Cup contention last year.
Alberts, who made his Super 14 against the Waratahs in Round One last year, injured his knee in a pre-season outing against the Bulls in Windhoek.
The Lions, despite still being without captain Ernst Joubert (back injury), were further boosted by the news that prop JC Janse van Rensburg – back-up to Heinke van der Merwe at loosehead prop – has made a full recovery from his shoulder injury.
Eloff said they will “have a look” at their captain, Joubert. However, he felt that the loose forward will be sidelined for another two weeks.
Eloff was full of praise for his team, who shed their underdog tag in Bloemfontein at the weekend, despite being written off before the start of the tournament.
“It was such a great start, after nobody gave us a chance to win,” Eloff told rugby365.com.
The Lions mentor described the scrappy first half against the Cheetahs as “typical early season” play and said his charges were very nervous.
Eloff felt that “togetherness and team spirit” is what pulled them back into the game after the were trailing for most of the encounter with the Cheetahs.
He was also full of praise for stand-in captain Cobus Grobbelaar, who did an admirable job in leading the Lions to victory against the Cheetahs.
“He [Grobbelaar] is just a very solid person, both on and off the field. He is very dedicated, it shows in his game and he really filled in well as captain for Ernst [Joubert],” Eloff added.
The Lions coach was also pleased as punch that his team showed maturity and never panicked, even when they were behind.
“They patiently kept plugging away and sticking to the game plan, and it is important to stick to your systems.
“Teams that stick to their structures are the teams that came through at the end,” Eloff added.
By Jan de Koning