It was a case of the band being back together again for the Lions when coach Ivan van Rooyen announced his team yesterday for tonight’s United Rugby Championship clash against Munster in Limerick (9.35pm start).
Injuries, Springbok call-ups and selection decisions sometimes produced different line-ups for the Johannesburg side’s backline in particular, but Van Rooyen was able to call on all his big weapons for the trip to Thomond Park.
The ‘big five’ of Quan Horn, Henco van Wyk, captain Marius Louw, Edwill van der Merwe and Morné van den Berg – who have been Lions stalwarts over the last few seasons – are reunited from the start, having already featured before the international window in various capacities.
Kade Wolhuter was preferred to the sixth regular member of the backline, Sanele Nohamba, at flyhalf, which indicates that Van Rooyen hopes to drive Munster into their own half with a strong kicking game.
Edwill van der Merwe always turns up the 🔥 🆚Munster. pic.twitter.com/EaCN6RAZ9Z
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) November 28, 2024
It’s going to be bucketing down at Thomond Park tonight, with 94% rain forecast for yesterday, 84% for today and 76% for tomorrow.
Add in a strong 32km/h wind, and the visitors will have to grind their way to victory – which is certainly not out of their realm.
They did it against the Dragons (23-19) in Newport and most certainly against Zebre (10-9) in Parma, with the latter encounter especially being ideal preparation for what they can expect in Limerick tonight as it was played in driving rain.
Munster are also going through a transition phase at the moment following the departure of former URC championship-winning coach Graham Rowntree a few weeks ago.
They are also missing their Irish internationals, who are on duty for the national team against Australia today, including Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Craig Casey and Jack Crowley.
So, Munster are there for the taking, having already lost four out of their six URC games, while the Lions are fourth on the log with four wins out of five.
The Johannesburg outfit, though, will be keen to bounce back from what was a disappointing 24-6 defeat to Leinster in Dublin in their last encounter on October 26.
That match was seen as an opportunity for the Lions to prove that they are genuine title contenders after a four-match unbeaten start to the season.
But despite a gritty defensive effort for the first hour – and a strong scrum that wasn’t always rewarded – a series of unforced errors contributed to their downfall at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Van Rooyen will hope that his team will fire more shots and impose themselves properly on a Munster outfit featuring two South Africans in wing Thaakir Abrahams and loosehead prop Dian Bleuler.
“We know that it’s going to be really tough. It’s probably going to be the toughest game of the year for us so far. They would have felt unlucky to have lost that game against the All Blacks XV earlier this month,” Van Rooyen said yesterday.
“We know that Munster are a quality team and are exceptional, especially in Limerick. They’ve shown most recently against the All Blacks XV what kind of quality they have.
“The change in their management set-up I’m sure will galvanise and bring their team together as they are a very proud, traditional European team.
“We go into Saturday with a fair bit of confidence, but also the reality of what lies ahead.
“We need to be more clinical and disciplined in what we want to do, and how we want to do it.
“That being said, there’s real excitement about the game after the two weeks of preparation we’ve had, so we are looking forward to it.”
Louw’s cut-and-thrust in midfield will add a much-needed hard edge, and he will be complemented by Van Wyk’s silky running skills at outside centre.
Quan Horn had to leave the field early against Leinster with concussion, which disrupted the Lions’ attack significantly, so the one-cap Bok will hope to stay on the pitch for the full 80 minutes.
Former Bulls loose forward WJ Steenkamp will make his Lions debut at No 7, and his powerful ball-carrying abilities will be crucial to get his team over the advantage line alongside Francke Horn and Jarod Cairns.
The likes of Nohamba and flank JC Pretorius will also look to make a serious impact off the bench.
Lions Team
15 Quan Horn 14 Richard Kriel 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Marius Louw (captain) 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Kade Wolhuter 9 Morné van den Berg 8 Francke Horn 7 WJ Steenkamp 6 Jarod Cairns 5 Ruan Delport 4 Ruben Schoeman 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 PJ Botha 1 Juan Schoeman.
Bench: 16 Franco Marais 17 Morgan Naudé 18 Conraad van Vuuren 19 Reinhard Nothnagel 20 JC Pretorius 21 Sanele Nohamba 22 Tapiwa Mafura 23 Erich Cronjé.