Lions’ Nohamba ready to take bulls by the horns again

Sanele Nohamba has every reason to feel bullish about the Lions engaging in another Jukskei Derby this weekend.

In the last two United Rugby Championship matches he played in Pretoria he took the bull by the horns, and on Saturday he will be desperate to deliver another display of audacious authority against them, this time on home soil.

“I'm excited to play them again,” he said about the derby destined for Ellis Park.

He doesn't, however, get too caught up in the derby hype.

“I don't look too much into the derbies. I see it as another rugby game where I can enjoy myself and put myself in the best possible position to win the game for the team.”

The Lions, though, have unfinished business against the Bulls. They saw their last minute penalty drift wide to deny them a win at Loftus last month.

“We did let them off the hook a little bit,” recalled the flyhalf.

“What an opportunity to play against the same team and try to rectify our mistakes and give ourselves more opportunities, while limiting theirs.

“We put ourselves in a good position to win the game. At the same time, we gave them opportunities to fight back and they did,” Nohamba said about the need for the Lions to atone.

As game driver, Nohamba's impact for the Lions has grown in dimension since his shift to flyhalf. He has been given licence to find space and probe weaknesses in defence.

“I've totally enjoyed it. I don't like shying away from a challenge. That is the challenge that was thrown at me this season and I'm happy to take that role and try to execute in the best way possible.”

Nohamba has been a menace with ball in hand but detractors will point to his diminutive figure and the potential threat of straight-running opponents down his channel.

He isn't flustered. Whether he plays scrumhalf or flyhalf his outlook remains the same.

“I do what I need to do. I'm not shying away from it. Rugby is a physical game. At some stage you are not going to have the ball and most teams tend to target that channel.

“I work with coach Jaque (Fourie), making tackles and putting my body on the line. It's nothing new but I'm doing it more now. You can't shy away from it.”

On Saturday the Lions have the opportunity to significantly close the gap on the Bulls in the SA Shield and take second place from the Stormers, albeit potentially temporarily.

Though results haven't always gone their way they have been far more competitive this season. They have hardly dropped their bundle.

“Time is one thing. It is more or less the same team we had last year,” he said, explaining why they have become a tighter unit.

“We understand each other a whole lot better. Maybe before we had guys coming from different unions and perhaps did not understand each other that well. Having played together we now know who does what, who is good at what and how you can play off that person.”