Johannesburg - The Springbok think-tank is doing the rounds in Gauteng; specifically Doornfontein, Johannesburg, on the fields of the Ellis Park Precinct, Lions backline, skills and attack coach Ricardo Loubscher revealed.
“It is lovely to have the Springbok coaches visiting for these two days (Monday and Tuesday),” said Loubscher in a press briefing of the Springbok alignment camp.
“It is all about just building a relationship and sharing knowledge on both sides in terms of feedback on some of the players. It is lovely to have a different voice - talking about the same things - so you get a bit of confirmation in terms of what we want to achieve.
"But also, one or two of those ideas can make a difference, so it has been a good visit.
“It's not so much them trying to tell us what to do, but it is more about just getting a better understanding on our side: What is working for them, and just maybe tap into that.
“It is a simple thing like what our week is like; what does a normal day look like if you are in the Springbok setup; a lot of chat around detail from the team meetings; and onto the field, reviewing those sessions and getting feedback.
“Obviously, what you can’t do, is you can’t copy and paste – we are working with different systems and we are in a different phases, but it is nice to have that confirmation that we are on the right track, there are maybe ideas that we can add to our week or just in terms of our planning, we can be better with.”
Without giving away too much, the former Springbok assistant coach hinted that Jacques Nienaber is reviewing the systems of the team and assessing the development of players. Who those players are was not revealed, but educated guesses can certainly be entertained.
This Friday, the Lions welcome DHL @WP_RUGBY to the Park in a thrilling first encounter after the final of last year's SA Rugby u20 Cup. Kick-off is at 13:00.
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) March 8, 2022
📹 Now live on our YouTube, the Lions u20 exciting win against the Leopards u20 in Potch last week.#LionsPride pic.twitter.com/TRsnUXmEvf
Vincent Tshituka springs first to mind, although it is unclear at the moment how far the DRC-born 24-year-old is in his application for SA citizenship. Wandisile Simelane has also been on the radar of the Springbok setup, and was in the greater squad during the British and Irish Lions tour in SA last year.
Both props Sti Sitole and Carlu Sadie could also be under assessment after impressive performances for the Lions in recent weeks, despite overall disappointments at team level. There are also a handful of former Baby Boks that could benefit from a visit by Nienaber and Co, such as 22-year-old Franke Horn, his namesake Quan, and 19-year-old Jordan Hendrikse, to name but a few.
Loubscher, however, was mum regarding those assessments.
“The coaches are not talking directly to us in terms of which players they are looking at,” he explained.
“I am sure (head coach Ivan van Rooyen) will be talking more to Jacques and the rest of the Springbok management but it is not them coming here talking about specific players or finding out about specific players. It is just a general chat just to get feedback on how a guy like, let say, Stean (Pienaar) or Tiaan (Swanepoel) or a guy like Morne (van den Berg) - our nine - how he is tracking in terms of his development, and just his work ethic off and on the field.”
The Lions face Cardiff Rugby on Sunday in a United Rugby Championship encounter so the input of Nienaber will arguably be a welcome one after a tough, winless year in that tournament.