Lions brace for Scotland challenge
Yesterday at 11:41 AM
Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys and fetcher JC Pretorius expect a reinforced Warriors team in Glasgow on Saturday night when the Lions attempt to bounce back to winning ways.
Coming off an agonizing 20-17 defeat at Cardiff in round 13, the Lions have shifted focus to ambushing URC champions Glasgow, who edged Munster on Friday. After the loss in the Welsh capital, the Lions are 13th on the log with 30 log points – two ahead of Scarlets in 14th and only five behind fifth-placed Cardiff – and the team from Joburg needs to bounce back quickly to stay in touch with the playoff contenders.
“We were very frustrated after the Cardiff game. If you look at all the stats, we dominated,” Redelinghuys said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“We were slow to react to their kicking game and too slow to fix our attacking breakdowns. They made it really tough and ugly for us. We didn’t play or do what we wanted to and still had an opportunity to fix it at the end but we couldn’t cross the line.
“We expected Cardiff to play how they did, but we didn’t adapt to the conditions as well as we could have. If we want to play well against Glasgow this weekend we need to have the ability to play in adverse conditions and go against any game plan they use.”
READ: Jenkins — No secret to stopping RG Snyman
Glasgow are likely to be strengthened by the return of their stalwarts this week, with 16 Warriors having been part of Gregor Townsend’s Six Nations squad.
“There is a lot of work that goes into preparation for a game like Glasgow,” Redelinghuys added. “We have a feeling they will bring back all of their Scotland internationals, and we have a good idea of what they are going to bring.
“They are second on the log for a reason. We have five games left in this competition and now we have the responsibility to put ourselves in the best possible position.
“We have an away game against Glasgow and then four matches at home that we need to be ready for. The log is congested and there are a lot of swings that have happened, especially over the last week. There are a lot of teams within a few points of each other.
“Did we worsen our chances after our loss to Cardiff? Yes, we did. Now we have to focus on Glasgow and move forward. We do realise the position we are in but we know what we need to do to end in the playoff places.”
ALSO: Bulls scrum stuck to their guns
Lions flanker JC Pretorius has had a breakout campaign in the 2024-25 URC, with the 27-year-old former Sevens player frothing at the opportunity to match up with some of the best loosies in the world this week.
“We let ourselves down,” Pretorius said. “Every time we entered their 22, we made errors. Cardiff capitalised on that.
“In this competition, if you stumble along the road, you have to put it behind you and keep focused on your next job. We aren’t in the situation we want to be but I wouldn’t say our backs are against the wall. We can fight our way out of this and we deserve to be in the top eight.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Lions brace for Scotland challenge appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
