Lions sharpen claws for Stormers clash
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Head coach Ivan van Rooyen is relishing the opportunity for the Lions to build on a big win at home when the Pride face the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
Van Rooyen's charges return to Vodacom URC duty against their local rivals in Cape Town, after getting off the mark in the EPCR Challenge Cup with a bonus-point victory against Section Paloise last week.
The lead changed hands four times in a 10-try thriller that was twice delayed due to bad weather at Ellis Park, but the hosts' haul of six tries secured a 43-35 triumph against the touring Top 14 outfit.
It snapped a three-game losing run in all competitions for the Lions, and speaking post-match in Johannesburg, Van Rooyen praised his team's performance while refocusing on this week's mouth-watering South African derby in the Mother City.
"It was important for us to get the first win, the last game [against the Ospreys] we spoke quite a bit about it from our side," he told reporters.
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"I see that Montpellier had a really good result against Ospreys, that's our next game in the EPCR so another good challenge for us away and then we got the Dragons back home.
"A little bit of travel for us but it's important for us to get off to a good start and getting five points [against Pau] was vital."
The injury-ravaged Stormers went down to Harlequins at Welford Road in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday, but Van Rooyen isn't looking past the embattled Capetonians, who are eight spots behind the fifth-placed Lions on the URC table.
"With the kick-off delays [on Saturday] the guys showed incredible character, and it's something we can latch on to and build on going forward," he added.
"Now it's back to the URC, and off to Cape Town.
"I see the Stormers left behind quite a bit of their players [for the Harlequins game] so they obviously put a big focus and emphasis [on Saturday's match], so a big South African derby just before Christmas."
Photo: Gallo Images
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