It’s another season and another injury for the unlucky Cyle Brink. The promising flanker is likely to miss the entire Super Rugby season with an Achilles tendon injury which requires surgery.
This much was confirmed by the Lions yesterday following the team’s final pre-season warm-up game against the Bulls at FNB Stadium on Sunday.
It is the umpteenth setback for the powerful flanker who two years ago was called into the Springbok squad for the first time. But, on the eve of his debut, he suffered a nerve problem in his neck and back and then last year suffered knee problems.
A ruptured Achilles tendon, which will be operated on tomorrow, will now result in his missing rugby action for at least the next six months.
The good news for the Lions though is they have several quality loose-forwards on their books including new recruit from the Bulls, Roelof Smit, Marnus Schoeman, Hacjivah Dayimani, Vincent Tshituka, Ruan Vermaak and Len Massyn, among others.
Meanwhile, Lions boss Ivan van Rooyen gave his team the thumbs up following their 35-40 loss to the Bulls in the weekend’s Superhero Sunday showdown at FNB Stadium.
“This was the first time we could get a true reflection of where we are as a team,” said Van Rooyen after the match.
“We’ll go and have a good look at the game, and have a good discussion with the players. There’s not a lot of time to go (before the Super Rugby competition stars) so we’ve got a big week ahead of us to fix things and prepare for our first game.”
Lions captain Elton Jantjies, who delivered a quality performance and created several tries for his teammates with some clever kicking, said there was a lot of positive energy in the squad, which excited him.
“The guys were hungry and excited to play rugby (after the break), and we know it’s not the same as when you train in the week.
“Also, expectations were there, with all the fans behind us (at FNB Stadium), and that’s why we went into the game with a lot of energy. Now, we need to channel that energy, and learn to make the right decisions at the right time when playing under pressure.
“The boys are working hard though, grafting for 16 weeks, since after last year’s Currie Cup, so we just need to keep on growing.”
He added there was a good vibe (in the country) following the Springboks’ winning of the Rugby World Cup last November and the four local franchises needed to cash in.
“Sure, there’s positivity here (in our rugby). We’re all in it together; we’re all part of South African rugby.”
The Lions’ final Super Rugby squad for the campaign will be named later this week, with Jantjies set to be named leader of that squad in the absence of Warren Whiteley, who is now part of the coaching team. The Lions’ first match of the 2020 season is next weekend against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
@jacq_west
The Star
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