Johannesburg - Only one thing matters this week - winning. There are no bonus points on offer and no credit will be given for playing entertaining rugby, but losing.
For the Lions though, who’re up against the Crusaders in the Super Rugby quarter-finals at Ellis Park on Saturday, there is only one way to play - irrespective of what’s on the line.
And that’s an expansive, attacking game, aimed at scoring tries.Johan Ackermann’s team have done it all year and they’re set to do it again in their biggest game of the competition on Saturday.
And, why not, when you consider the Lions go into the knockout rounds as the leading try-scoring team in Super Rugby in 2016.
Ackermann’s men dotted down on 71 occasions in the regular season, compared to the Crusaders’ 65 tries scored. There’s not much in it, but as Lions assistant coach Swys de Bruin says, why would his team change anything if their attacking game has brought them to this point.
“There’s no reason to change anything,” said De Bruin ahead of Saturday’s encounter.
“Yes, we lost to the Crusaders the last time we played against them, and also against the Hurricanes... those two matches without a doubt being our two worst performances of the year. But, we also beat the Chiefs away and won against the Blues. We’ve shown we can play against New Zealand teams and win... so it doesn’t really matter that we’re up against the Crusaders.”
Ackermann’s men were criticised for being naive and adopting a poor game plan after going down to the seven-time former champions at the beginning of April.
But they also learned a great deal from the match, something that should stand them in good stead this weekend.On that day, April 1, the Crusaders exploited some poor decisions by the Lions players and a few holes in their defensive line to get ahead early.
But overall, the Lions have been pretty solid in the tackle department this year, conceding 42 tries; that’s less than three on average per game.
The Crusaders have let in 40 tries so they’re also fairly stingy in the defensive department; the closeness of the teams’ records suggesting Saturday’s match will be just as tight as the one they played in April.
“The Crusaders caught us with something like a blitzkrieg when we played them the last time,” De Bruin admitted.
“They’re an experienced outfit, they’ve been in play-offs before and know what’s in store and what’s needed to get past this stage of the competition.
“But, there’s not much between the teams, we’ve both lost four going into this match and won 11.”
All eyes are now on the coaches, Ackermann and Todd Blackadder, to see who they pick in their teams for the must-win match.The Lions’ major decision is whether to risk Warren Whiteley, who’s struggled with a shoulder injury for the last four weeks, while the Crusaders have to decide whether to include experienced All Blacks Andy Ellis (scrumhalf) and Sam Whitelock (lock) in the starting team.
Both missed the match against the Hurricanes last Saturday. Also, Blackadder needs to find a replacement for giant wing Nemani Nadolo, who didn’t travel to Johannesburg because of a hamstring injury.
The Star