‘Two desperate packs stacking up,’ says Lions scrum coach Redelinghuys
· Citizen
Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys says the scrum battle against the Dragons in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match on Saturday at Ellis Park will be between two desperate packs looking to make amends.
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The Lions had a difficult time in the scrums against Edinburgh last weekend, while the Dragons endured a torrid time against the Stormers pack in their clash in Cape Town, so both teams will be gunning for an improved showing.
Despite their struggles in the scrums the Lions managed to walk away with a comfortable win over the Scottish side, but Dragons were badly impacted by their scrum failings as they fell to a tight loss to the Cape side.
“We had a very below average performance against Edinburgh, so we have worked hard on our scrum (this week). They (Dragons) had a very below average performance (in the scrums) against the Stormers, and they would have worked hard (to fix that),” explained Redelinghuys.
“So it will be two desperate packs stacking up against each other this weekend. We have worked on the things that we needed to fix and I hope it’s going to come through on Saturday.”
A big plus for the Lions was seeing utility forward Ruan Venter put in a man-of-the-match performance from No 4 lock against Edinburgh, as he was a late switch from the flank after Etienne Oosthuizen was withdrawn with the flu on game day.
Venter is back on the side of the scrum for the Dragons match, while Oosthuizen slots into the second row, but the versatility of Venter bodes very well for the Lions going forward.
Future at No 4
“I honestly believe he (Venter) has a great future at No 4. It turns our pack into a very dynamic pack and it turns our attack into something else. You have Batho (Hlekani) running strong lines, you have Venter running strong lines and stealing ball at the front of the lineout,” said Redelinghuys.
“You do lose a bit of weight (in the pack), but you gain a lot of dynamic (play) and athleticism. But in saying that Etienne has been doing great work for us set piece wise and in the loose. He is actually one of the hardest working guys you will see.
“Even though he is one of bigger boys, but he often gets to places where some of the other forwards don’t get to. So we are in a really fortunate position to have both Etienne and Ruan.”
The Lions on current form will be confident of getting the win over a tough but struggling Dragons team, and Redelinghuys believes that they won’t become complacent, despite the strong performances they have shown recently.
“Confidence comes from winning, but I think confidence also comes from here on the training pitch. The guys have trained well, been working hard, and then seen the positive result of that on the weekend, and from that there is a lot of confidence in the squad,” said Redelinghuys.
“That gives the players belief that what they are doing (in the build-up) is working. So we are a confident squad, but I really hope and believe that we are not complacent.”