Form, coach, key players: What the B&I Lions are facing in the Sigma Lions
The British and Irish Lions kick off their tour to South Africa with a match against namesakes the Sigma Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Emirates Airline Park outfit the Lions – who recently played in the PRO14 Rainbow Cup and will be part of the United Rugby Championship when it launches next season – are the opponents for the first of five warm-up matches on South African soil ahead of a three-Test series against the Springboks.
Warren Gatland’s men eased to a 28-10 victory over Japan at Murrayfield before jetting off to the southern hemisphere, although the result came at the cost of tour-ending injuries to captain Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.
Saturday’s clash will give Gatland an opportunity to see other members of his squad in action as preparations continue for the first Test on July 24.
Here, we take a closer look at this weekend’s opponents.
BACKGROUND
The Lions – along with the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls – were formerly part of Super Rugby and reached three consecutive finals from 2016 to 2018, losing all three. All South African teams were withdrawn from the competition in 2020 with a view to joining an expanded PRO14, and the formation of the URC – consisting of the four South African sides alongside the existing 12 PRO14 teams – was announced last month, following the Lions’ participation in the Rainbow Cup. The Lions, who will be known as the Sigma Lions for the first time this weekend following the announcement of a new sponsorship deal, were a late addition to the tour schedule, replacing the SA Invitational side on the itinerary.
FORM
The Lions will be considered the weakest of the teams the tourists will face over the coming weeks after they finished bottom of the pile in the South African section of the Rainbow Cup. They managed only one victory from their five matches, although that solitary win came against the table-topping Bulls. That result came a week after the Lions were cruelly denied victory by a late Tim Swiel penalty in a 10-try 39-37 home defeat to the Stormers.
COACH
Head coach Ivan Van Rooyen joined the Golden Lions Rugby Union in 2009, working with the junior sides and Vodacom Cup team until 2011. He became head of strength and conditioning in 2012 and, following a successful couple of seasons as head coach of the Currie Cup team, he was promoted to his current role in 2019. Speaking ahead of the match Van Rooyen said: “This is such a big opportunity for every player involved. There is such a small group of guys who will have the chance to play against players of this calibre in their lifetime, and I hope that they truly take a moment to take it in and savour the enormity of the moment.”
KEY PLAYERS
The Lions have contributed only one player to the Springboks squad for the upcoming Test series – uncapped centre Wandisile Simelane. Fly-half Jordan Hendrikse, 20, enjoyed a breakthrough campaign during the Rainbow Cup, while 22-year-old flanker Vincent Tshituka has been tipped as a future Bok. Both men start on Saturday, while Ruan Dreyer and Jamba Ulengo are the only members of the starting XV to have made senior international appearances, although they boast only five caps between them.
SIGMA LIONS: 15 EW Viljoen, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Rabz Maxwane, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Dillon Smit, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Nathan McBeth.
REPLACEMENTS: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Sithembiso Sithole, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Ruhan Straeuli, 20 Emmanuel Tshituka, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Fred Zeilinga, 23 Dan Kriel.
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments