Lions target breakdown

Rugby:Lions assistant coach Warren Gatland insists particular attention has to be paid to the breakdown when the tourists face the Springboks and has warned his players anything less than 100 per cent in the tackle will be see them coming up short in South Africa.

The Lions will play six games before their opening Springboks showdown next month, starting with Saturday’s tour opener against a Royal XV in Rustenburg - for whom a strong selection featuring 11 players from the Vodacom Cup-winning GWK Griquas was revealed this evening - and Wales boss Gatland knows the tourists must be fearless when it comes to contesting breakdown ball.

“If we are not dynamic at the breakdown, we are going to come up short,” he said. “That is one of the things we have been working on — it’s a hugely important facet of the game.

“We’ve taken a few clips of the Super 14 and shown the players — the dynamism at the breakdown — and we’ve got to make sure we match that and be prepared to be very physical.

“Every tackle, every hit has to be 100 per cent, and if you are not prepared to do that, you are going to come up short.”

The Lions, whose last Test series triumph came in South Africa 12 years ago, have arrived as underdogs, but despite limited preparation time and injuries to Tomas O’Leary, Tom Shanklin, Leigh Halfpenny and Jerry Flannery, as well as the 12-week suspension for Alan Quinlan, Gatland delivered an upbeat assessment today.

“I think we are a lot further forward than we expected to be after the first week,” he added. “We have been very pleased — the guys have picked up the calls really quickly.

“If we thought it was hopeless, I don’t think we should be here.

“You’ve got to come with that desire, ambition and self-belief to put a performance together.

“If they (the Lions) can play well for 80 minutes, be accurate and put South Africa under pressure, then they have got a chance of winning.

“We have got six games before the first Test, whereas South Africa might be a little bit under done in the first game, having had (one) run-out against Namibia.”

The Lions reported a clean bill of health today as they continued preparations in bright Johannesburg sunshine to launch their 10-match trip at the 42,000-capacity Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, who gave the Lions a shoulder injury scare during Leinster’s Heineken Cup final victory over Leicester last weekend, took a full part in training.

“Brian is still a bit tight and a bit sore, but he has trained fully,” said Gatland. “As a coach, you are really motivated to be here — you’ve got an opportunity to work with the best players in the northern hemisphere.

“And one of the good things is how open the players have been.

“If we can share ideas and share some information, I think it is going to help club rugby in the northern hemisphere, and international rugby as well.

“I think that’s the way forward. Too often in the past we’ve been so closed and didn’t share enough, so that has been the positive about the last 10 days."

Royal XV coach Chaka Willemse will be the first to attempt to derail the Lions and opted to name a strong, familiar side today.

Aprat from the 11 Griquas, the other four players in the team that will run out at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace come from the Platinum Leopards, including captain Wilhelm Koch - a relative of former Springbok prop Chris Koch, who played against the Lions in 1955.

Willemse gave preference to players with Super 14 experience, with Naas Olivier, Sarel Pretorius, Bjorn Basson, Bees Roux (all Cheetahs) and Deon van Rensburg (Lions), all of whom played regularly at Super 14 level this season set to start.

Royal XV team: Russell Jeacocks; Egon Seconds, Deon van Rensburg, Hanno Coetzee, Bjorn Basson; Naas Olivier, Sarel Pretorius; Jonathan Mokuena, Devon Raubenheimer, Wilhelm Koch, Jacques Lombaard, Rudi Mathee, Bees Roux, Rayno Barnes, Albertus Buckle.

Replacements: Pellow van der Westhuizen, Stef Roberts, Rynard Landman, RW Kember, Jacques Coetzee, Riaan Viljoen, Jovan Bowles.