Johannesburg — The loss of Emmanuel Tshituka and Ruan Venter will be felt this weekend when the Lions attempt to take all five points from the imperious Leinster, but the Johannesburg-based side’s scrum coach, Julian Redelinghuys, remains confident that they can achieve that objective.
Manu — as Tshituka is called around the halls in Doornfontein – is serving his second week of a three week ban after receiving a red card against Racing 92 at the beginning of April. Venter, meanwhile, came off against Glasgow Warriors this past weekend in the 16th minute after a heavy tackle which saw him struggle to find his balance. The same protocol will be observed, no doubt, for wing Rabz Maxwane who also suffered a nasty concussion in the seventh minute of the encounter.
Said Redelinghuys of those injuries on Wednesday: “The effects of losing quality players like that is felt but what is exciting to see are the guys stepping in and then taking over and putting up their hands.
“No rugby player stays on the field forever and no player stays off the field forever. It is good to see if you lose a quality player like Ruan or Manu, whoever steps into his spot, he slots in well and he does the job for you as well.”
The loss of the bruising Venter, therefore, could be an opportunity for Sibusiso Sangweni or Ruhan Straeuli to be elevated to the United Rugby Championship (URC) team this weekend after playing in the Currie Cup, with either Ruan Delport or Travis Gordon – both on the bench against the Warriors this past weekend – possibly selected into the starting XV in his absence.
The backline will in all probability have to be rejigged as well, with Adries Coetzee possibly returning to the starting XV at fullback and Quan Horn moving onto the wing to cover for Maxwane.
The Lions will not face the full might of table-topping Leinster on matchday. Even so, the Irish franchise remains a frightening proposition to face, such is their stability, focus, intent and depth. It is a fact that Redelinghuys admitted will have to be overcome, if they are to hand the visitors their first defeat of the campaign.
“(Leinster) are No 1 on the log, and they have played with this team several times,” he said.
“It is a good set-up they have in Leinster and this is a very good team, but we are not looking much into it … This week for us is about putting in the details – getting the little things right to get us closer to where we want to be.”
The Lions kick-off against Leinster at 4pm at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday. Earlier on the day, the Bulls will face Zebre at the same venue in a double-header at 1pm.
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