Van den Berg can spark Lions in Challenge Cup redemption hunt against Edinburgh
Image: BackpagePix
The Lions made a few changes to their side to strike a balance in fielding and resting key players as they hunt a quarter-final place in the Challenge Cup, and chase a spot in the top eight in the United Rugby Championship.
For now, all the focus will be on beating Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium (9pm kick-off) in the Scottish capital, and putting on a better performance than what was the case last weekend in Glasgow.
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen selected an exciting starting XV on Thursday for the round of 16 clash in the EPCR competition.
The inclusion of Morné van den Berg at scrumhalf should provide the Johannesburg outfit with some attacking impetus.
Not that his replacement Nico Steyn did not do well in his injury-enforced absence, but Van den Berg brings a different dimension to the Lions' attack.
If the conditions don't allow the visitors to play their running brand of rugby, the tactical kicking at scrumhalf and flyhalf, and from fullback Quan Horn, will have to be on point.
Van den Berg will resume his halfback partnership with Gianni Lombard as the Lions' two game drivers.
Rynhardt Jonker taking over from the experienced Marius Louw at inside centre comes as a surprise, but it ties in with the team wanting to strike that balance in giving the players game-time over the next few weeks.
Upfront, fetcher Jarod Cairns comes in for JC Pretorius, Franco Marais is the starting hooker and loosehead SJ Kotze has been given a chance to state his case in place of Juan Schoeman.
Schoeman will come off the bench and could face his brother Pierre, who plays for Edinburgh.
Jaque Fourie, the Lions' defence coach, said earlier in the week that they must find that middle ground when it comes to the players' minutes on the field.
'When you get to knockouts, you want to play your best teams,' he said.
'We also want to get that continuity (in selection) going. We have chatted about that quite a bit, because we are going into the business end of the tournaments.
'We want to win (in the knockouts), but we also want to end in the top eight of the URC.
'There were lengthy discussions (on resting players), but we have sorted it out.
5️⃣0️⃣ for Wes Goosen ✨@EdinburghRugby make four changes to their team after their #BKTURC win against the Dragons last weekend 🤩
All #ChallengeCupRugby Team News ⬇️ — EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) April 3, 2025
'We are prepared to play for six weeks straight if it comes down to that. The more the team can play together, the better it will be for us and them.'
Looking at their peculiar position in both competitions, it's unsurprising that the Lions selected their best to continue forging on in the Challenge Cup.
If they can find that momentum and play to their ability, they can go all the way to the final, like the Sharks did last season.
✨ Round of 16 Fixtures ✨
Bath Rugby, Racing 92, Hollywoodbets Sharks and the Vodacom Bulls drop into the competition, some mouthwatering ties to come 🍿
Who are you backing to make the #ChallengeCupRugby final in Cardiff, tickets on sale now ⬇️ — EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) January 22, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
10 minutes ago
- TimesLIVE
Lions looking to avoid mistakes of the past in Currie Cup opener against Sharks
The last time there was a Zulu on the Lions' proverbial stoep it ended up being a blockbusting horror for the home team. The Lions claim they are no longer spooked by the events that unfolded in last year's Currie Cup final when they let slip the opportunity to lift the trophy by performing post full-time siren hara-kiri against the Sharks. Holding a slender lead after the siren they won a line-out and opted not to kick the ball into touch. The Sharks turned over possession and new recruit Jordan Hendrickse kicked his former team in the teeth by raising the flags with a monster penalty to snatch the title. 'Ya, those type of things are not unique to us,' said Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi. 'We have to get over ourselves. The game of rugby moves on. It hurt afterwards but over the course of time we engaged with each other and tried to understand what happened.
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Former Blitzbok Angelo Davids set for Lions debut in Currie Cup battle with Sharks
Former Stormers wing Angelo Davids will hope to carry his try-scoring form to new team the Lions, starting on Saturday in the Currie Cup match against the Sharks. Angelo Davids will make his eagerly anticipated debut on the right wing for the Lions in Saturday's opening Currie Cup match against the Sharks at Ellis Park Stadium (3pm kickoff), while Rabz Maxwane returns to the left wing after a long injury. Hooker Jaco Visagie will lead the Lions once more this season, and will be hoping to go one step further in the competition after losing to the Sharks in last year's final. On Saturday, they get the chance to lay down an early marker against the Durban side. The Lions racked up an impressive 437 points last season by playing an enterprising brand of running rugby, and Davids could be key for them to repeat those performances this season.
The Citizen
6 hours ago
- The Citizen
Currie Cup kick-off: All eight teams in with shout of lifting trophy
An exciting Currie Cup competition could be in store this year with the 'big four' opting to field weakened teams. The Currie Cup looks like it will revert to type for its 2025 edition, with the so-called 'top-four' being seriously challenged for the title by the 'lower teams' in the coming weeks. The competition kicks off this weekend. In recent times, due to South African rugby's year-long schedule, the Currie Cup has turned into a bit of a feeder competition for the main four franchises, with the Bulls, Western Province, Sharks and Lions choosing to rest their best players and give youngsters a chance ahead of the United Rugby Championship. This has seen a slightly unexpected, but entertaining turn when it's come to the finals, like the Pumas beating the Griquas in 2022 and the Cheetahs beating the Pumas in 2023. But last year, the Bulls, Lions and Sharks backed stronger squads towards the end of the competition, which led to an exciting campaign that ended with the Sharks edging the Lions in a thrilling final at Ellis Park. This year, however, all of the big four have backed weakened squads, leaving out most of their best URC players, which has once again opened the door for the Pumas, Cheetahs and Griquas to seriously challenge for the title. The Boland Cavaliers also make a return to the big time for the first time in a number of years and it will be interesting to see how they fare with a wily old coach in Hawies Fourie, and a couple of interesting signings. SA Cup In the lower division SA Cup competition, that was battled out earlier in the year, the Pumas powered to a dominant title win, with the Griquas finishing runners-up, while the Cheetahs and Cavaliers were knocked out in the semis. Where the big four franchises could receive a boost is the inclusion of a raft of Junior Springbok stars who shone during their World Rugby U20 Championship winning campaign in Italy recently. If some of those players are able to make a seamless step up to senior rugby, they could make a big splash in the Currie Cup. The first weekend of action should give a good indication of how things will turn out, with a number of tasty encounters. In a replay of last year's final, the Lions take on the Sharks in Johannesburg on Saturday, and the hosts will be out for revenge, while the defending champs will want to start on a good note. Also on Saturday fierce URC rivals Western Province and the Bulls will battle it out in Cape Town and both will be eager for bragging rights. On Friday night a replay of the SA Cup final sees the Pumas host the Griquas in Mbombela, while the Cavaliers will be gunning to stun the Cheetahs in their opener in Wellington on Sunday. Currie Cup opening weekend fixtures Friday Pumas v Griquas at the Mbombela Stadium: 7pm kick-off Saturday Lions v Sharks at Ellis Park: 3pm kick-off Western Province v Bulls at the Cape Town Stadium: 5:10pm kick-off Sunday Boland Cavaliers v Cheetahs at the Boland Stadium: 3pm kick-off
