Lions braced for Stormers set-piece onslaught

The Lions are predicting that Saturday’s Vodacom URC derby against the Stormers at Ellis Park,will be decided up front.

Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys expects nothing less than a full-blooded arm wrestle when the Stormers arrive.

“Another local derby and it’s against the Stormers who are a quality team. We are expecting a massive battle from them, a strong set-piece battle, strong physicality battle, strong kicking battle. We are aware of what lies ahead for us, but we’ve been preparing well this week so far. We need to pitch up on the day. It’s another game at home which is always nice to have.”

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The Lions come off an impressive win over the Sharks at the same venue, but Redelinghuys was quick to point out that not everything in that performance met their standards – particularly at scrum and maul time.

“At the set-piece, there were a few things against the Sharks that we weren’t happy with. We scored a maul try, but then we conceded two maul tries and at the scrum we conceded too many penalties – two of those off our own ball. It’s aspects that we’ll need to get right when we play the Stormers.”

Against a Stormers pack boasting serious pedigree and power, those margins will matter even more.

Redelinghuys, a former Springbok prop himself, is relishing the examination.

“Looking forward to the scrum battle. You want to test yourself against the best guys and obviously playing the SA teams, who have the strongest packs in the competition. Great to have that challenge.”

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Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images