European teams will up the ante in the URC

SA teams in the United Rugby Championship (URC) will firmly be in the cross hairs of their European counterparts this season, predicts experienced Lions prop Ruan Dreyer.

The Bok contends SA's teams went into last year's competition a little under the radar but that the Stormers and the Bulls marching all the way to the final has erased the element of surprise in this campaign.

“The European teams are out to get the SA teams this year,” predicted Dreyer. “They didn't give us a chance last year. Then we ended up with two SA teams in the final. I think the European teams would have stepped it up.”

Dreyer didn't say whether the Lions, who finished 12th on the points table in the inaugural season, would end as collateral damage, but he did point out some drawbacks of being underrated.

“If you play as underdogs you have a point to prove,” he said about the Lions. “Not that, that makes it easier. The stands are usually not full. We want to get the crowd back and fill Ellis Park up again.”

The Lions who were SA's standard bearers in the last few seasons of Super Rugby have lost much of the vigour and vitality that carried them to three successive finals.

“Everyone asks why we are not performing like in the past,” said Dreyer. “But it is not the same team. We are busy building our own culture. We are finding ourselves and the sweet spot to take things forward.”

They will however have to hit the deck running on Saturday when they kick off their URC campaign against the Bulls at Ellis Park. Even after their splendid run in Super Rugby the Lions have maintained their grunt in the scrum, a discipline where the Bulls have been inconsistent.

“I think it is one of our weapons and we pride ourselves in the scrums. We definitely want to work on it and take it forward from last year. The Bulls have a big pack, a strong pack, a physical pack. They are also experienced.”

The Lions have however lost some of their potency in the scrum with the departure of tight head prop Carlu Sadie to the Sharks.

“Carlu is a young but experienced prop. He is a great loss,” noted Dreyer. “He made a big impact. He was really solid for this union. We have Ruan Smith and Asenathi Ntlabakanye so it opens up space for another player. We want the guys to stand up to the challenge.”

Being surrounded by so much inexperience means his role along with that of Jaco Kriel and Andries Coetzee are magnified this season.

“We have a bit more experience and we have tasted the Champagne when things went well in the team. There we can share quite a lot. URC is still new to us so we all learn as we go along,” said Dreyer.

Lions — Andries Coetzee; Edwill van der Merwe, Henco van Wyk, Marius Louw, Quan Horn; Jordan Hendrikse, Morne van den Berg; Francke Horn, Ruhan Straeuli, Sibusiso Sangweni; Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), Ruan Venter; Ruan Dreyer, PJ Botha, Sithembiso Sithole. Substitutes: Jaco Visagie, JP Smith, Ruan Smith, Pieter Jansen van Vuren, Emmanuel Tshituka; Sanele Nohamba, Gianni Lombard, Zander du Plessis.

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