Morgan Bolton
If Julian Redelinghuys was to crunch the numbers – and trust that the former Springbok prop, who is a registered accountant, would crush those figures as he once crushed opposition scrums – he would find that the Lions have indeed faced their Welsh opponents an inordinate amount over the last three seasons.
Indeed, one can argue it is becoming a bit of a rivalry.
Whether it be in the United Rugby Championship (URC) or in the EPCR Challenge Cup – which is the case once again this weekend when the Joburgers face the Ospreys in Swansea – the Lions cannot seem to escape travelling to and fro from the Valleys.
🗣Comments from coach Julian ahead of our @ChallengeCup_ opener against Ospreys this Sunday in Swansea.#ForOurCity#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/uLX65pc1XT
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) December 5, 2024
“It feels like we have played these Welsh sides in the URC and EPCR a lot,” Redelinghuys noted, with his trademark chuckle ,earlier this week. “So, we have lots of experience with them. Unfortunately, with the Ospreys, we don’t have favourable experiences … We experience them as a tough team.”
Indeed, when accounting for their matches against the Welsh franchises – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets – the Lions will find they have the rub of the green. In all and since the 2022/23 URC season, across all competitions, the Lions have played those teams collectively on 15 occasions.
Truth be told, they have also dominated their Welsh counterparts, winning 11 of those matches, while losing three and drawing one. They have scored 455 points, conceding 367 points and are averaging a 30-24 scoreline. It would not be an understatement to declare that head coach Ivan van Rooyen and his charges love playing in that part of the UK, as they sport a 71% win record from seven matches, too.
They have a positive win percentage against Cardiff (100%), Dragons (75%) and Scarlets (66%), with the Ospreys the only real outlier. After four matches, both teams have won two encounters each – one home and one away. That includes the Ospreys’ upset victory in the Challenge Cup last year, when they beat the home side famously at Ellis Park 38-28.
💯 up for a man who needs no introduction to the tryline 😤
Spend your Sunday with Keelan and the boys: https://t.co/6MTlDL5CQG 🎟️#TogetherAsOne pic.twitter.com/yH6V4LqaT8
The Lions will, no doubt, look to rectify that result, as well as bounce back from the recent disappointment against Munster. They will do so with what is expected to be a vastly changed matchday 23 this weekend, as they juggle a short turnaround to next weekend’s fixture against Pau – also in the Cup – at Ellis Park, followed by a crucial away clash against the Stormers in the URC.
The starting XV to face the Ospreys should, therefore, see this match as an opportunity to stake a claim for a larger role going forward, and will be keen not to repeat the same mistakes that led to the Lions’ 17-10 loss to Munster last week Saturday.
Tapiwa Mafura is one of those players who will be pushing for greater inclusion, and is expected to run out on the wing against Wales' most successful team. He played a small part in the Lions’ defeat in Limerick, coming off the bench in the 73rd minute.
While sitting alongside Redelinghuys in the media briefing, he gave his assessment of what went wrong during that URC clash and how the team can rectify it in the upcoming Cup encounter.
Said the former Free State Cheetahs player: “When we analysed the game afterwards, we could see the opportunities that we created, the ones that we missed and how we can be better.
“Luckily, they are problems that are not hard to fix. It was small errors that we need to fix on the training field this weekend by communicating better and by making sure we execute the opportunities …
“This weekend we have a massive opportunity to rectify. Hopefully, we can be better … We lacked a bit of composure and execution.”
Earlier this year, Van Rooyen boldly declared that the Top 4 in the URC was their objective, but the Lions will know that right now the Challenge Cup enjoys similar importance. A positive result against the Ospreys will help that goal, but also maintain their proud record against the Welsh.
The match kicks off 5.15pm on Sunday.
Lions possible starting XV v Ospreys: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Tapiwa Mafura, 10 Sanele Nohamba, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Jarod Cairns, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Reinhard Nothnagel, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Franco Marias, 1 Juan Schoeman