JOHANNESBURG - Lions captain Warren Whiteley has warned his players about the intimidating atmosphere that awaits them in Buenos Aires this week.
For many of the players this will be their first trip to Argentina, for Saturday’s Super Rugby match against the Jaguares.
For last season’s visit to Buenos Aires, coach Johan Ackermann rested his first choice players for the last round-robin fixture as the Lions had already qualified for a home quarter-final.
Now it is only week three and Ackermann is taking no chances; he’ll board the plane to South America on Monday with as strong a squad as he’s able to assemble.
Whiteley, who’s led his team to back-to-back wins at the start of the competition, said a huge job awaited his team.
“Playing there is a new kettle of fish,” said Whiteley ahead of the trip.
“The Jaguares are a team who play on passion. The first 20 minutes of the match sets the tone. They always come out firing, especially when they’re at home.
“We’ve seen before that if you give them a sniff and you show any weakness, they’ll take it, they’ll exploit the weakness. We’re going to have to be sharp.”
Whiteley further said his Lions team would be in for a bruising encounter; the Jaguares having started with a win and a defeat on the road, and they’d want to prove a point or two with this being their first home match.
“Look, they’re a physical side. They’re always going to be tough in the scrums, they’re strong at maul-time and in the rucks and there’s no doubt they’ll try put us under plenty of pressure,” he said. “On top of that we’d have travelled, and that’s always an extra challenge.”
Indeed, one of the reasons why Ackermann sent a B-team to face the Jaguares last season was to keep his first choice players healthy and well ahead of the quarter-finals. Visiting teams often struggle with illness when leaving Argentina and, as it turned out, several Lions players fell ill after that trip last year.
“They say it could be because of the water so we’ll have to be careful what we take in,” said Ackermann.
“We’re simply going to have to try and avoid certain things, especially with the Reds coming up next weekend. But we must also look at this match as an opportunity to pick up points away from home.
“It’ll be massive for us to go there and win and that’s what I want the players to focus on, not what they can and can’t eat and drink.”
The challenge is real; on and off the field for the Lions this week.
The only players not considered for the trip are Howard Mnisi, who’s out for the year with a knee injury, and centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg, who’s been given the week off to attend his mother’s funeral on Wednesday.
Ackermann is thus going to have to shuffle his midfield for the match on Saturday, with Harold Vorster possibly moving to 12 and Lionel Mapoe moving back to his more familiar role of 13. Jacques Nel or Sylvian Mahuza is expected to come in on the wing.