Morgan Bolton
The return of Morne van den Berg from Springbok duty is set to trigger several changes in the Lions' line-up for their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Edinburgh this weekend.
'Krappie,' filled in as third-choice scrumhalf during the Springboks' final Rugby Championship fixtures against Argentina, stepping in for the injured Grant Williams. While he did not play, the 26-year-old undoubtedly gained invaluable insights from his national team experience.
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Van den Berg missed the Lions’ opening URC match against Ulster, a game which the Joburgers clinched with an impressive 35-22 victory. In his absence, Sanele Nohamba and Kade Wolhuter formed the half-back pairing, with Nico Steyn providing cover on the bench.
Now, with Van den Berg back in contention, the Lions will likely rethink their matchday 23 ahead of their Saturday showdown at Ellis Park.
Additionally, the return of Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe and Richard Kriel to training in Doornfontein this week could lead to further changes in the squad. However, injury doubts linger over Morgan Naude, Ruan Venter and Tapiwa Mafura, potentially necessitating further strategic adjustments.
The team harbours ambitions of reaching the semi-finals, but to realise this, head coach Ivan van Rooyen and his team must manage their squad deftly amidst a hectic schedule. This season's URC campaign comes on the heels of a demanding Currie Cup run, with the additional task of competing in the EPCR Challenge Cup from December ahead.
Van Rooyen has admitted that squad rotation will be a critical factor in preventing player burnout — a lesson they arguably failed to learn in their previous campaigns.
"The inconsistency could be down to a couple of things," Van Rooyen stated earlier this month.
"One is probably the rotation of the squad. We ran out of legs in some games ... A bit of rotation will be needed."
This sentiment was echoed by assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher yesterday, who iwill help plan for the Edinburgh game and a demanding five-match European tour thereafter. It is a gruelling run of games that includes clashes against the Dragons, Zebre, Leinster, and Munster in the URC, along with a Challenge Cup clash against the Ospreys in Wales — culminating in a match against Pau at Ellis Park a week later.
“The big thing for us as we go through this season,” Loubscher noted, “is to rotate the players positionally.
“We are in the fortunate position where it doesn't matter if our players play off the bench, or they start, we have a squad that we can pick from any 23 on the day ... We want to keep the momentum but we will definitely take a horses-for-courses approach.
“We will look at minutes played, at training times and training volume. We will have a plan for every single guy going forward ..."
“We are creating the right opportunities and we just need to finish them. We have to go hard this weekend and be more clinical in what we are doing."
Loubscher's immediate focus is on building upon the momentum from their bonus-point win over Ulster.
"If you look at the Ulster game, we are happy with the win, but we need to brush up on a few things,” he remarked.
“We can be more clinical in our execution, and this weekend, we will get another opportunity to improve. We scored some beautiful tries – five in total – and we are happy with our structured attack.
“We are creating the right opportunities and we just need to finish them. We have to go hard this weekend and be more clinical in what we are doing."
As the Lions prepare to face a rugged Edinburgh side, the strategic player rotation coupled with the return of key players could be pivotal. Success in maintaining a balanced and dynamic squad will be crucial as they navigate the arduous path that lies ahead in the URC and beyond.