Lions ready to test themselves against All Blacks at Ellis Park

The Lions will face the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Tuesday night, with coach Ivan van Rooyen admitting that his side is not yet ready for the new Vodacom URC campaign but is prepared to take on New Zealand.

The Johannesburg team has had more time to prepare than the other South African URC clubs involved in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour. Van Rooyen is nevertheless treating the match as a demanding examination of the Lions’ systems and individual players.

New Zealand have scored heavily in their matches against the South African teams on tour. The All Blacks beat the Sharks 54-0 and the Bulls 50-0, while the Stormers offered the strongest resistance before losing 38-21 in Cape Town.

The Lions are expected to field a near full-strength line-up. Scrumhalf Morné van den Berg is unavailable after being selected on the Springboks’ bench for Saturday’s second Test in Cape Town. Fullback Quan Horn and prop Boan Venter, who is set to make his Lions debut, have been released from the national squad for the Ellis Park fixture.

Van Rooyen said the Lions would be taking a calculated risk by playing such a demanding match during pre-season. He indicated that the squad lacked sufficient recent collision work, while stressing that the opportunity to face New Zealand was too valuable to pass up.

The coach expects the All Blacks to use a plan closer to the one seen against the URC sides than the approach that produced a 33-16 victory over South Africa in the first Test at Ellis Park. He pointed to New Zealand’s pace, physicality and breakdown work as the main threats.

Those qualities will place pressure on the Lions’ tempo, physical contest and decision-making. Van Rooyen said a victory would require an exceptional performance, but maintained that the occasion gives his players a chance to measure themselves against one of international rugby’s leading teams.