A young Lions squad will be hunting a win over Newcastle Red Bulls in their Challenge Cup second round match in England on Saturday.
The Lions have sent an exciting young squad made up of largely fringe players to England for their Challenge Cup second round clash against Newcastle Red Bulls at Kingston Park on Saturday night.
It will be a baptism of fire for many of the youngsters, who will be touring with the team for the first time, and some will have to put in a big performance in the match as the Lions desperately need a win.
In the touring squad they have Sibabalwe Mahashe and Siyabonga Dube, who are both 21 and have represented South Africa at junior level, but are yet to make their senior Lions international debuts.
Junior Bok star, Haashim Pead, who is only 20, has featured twice for the Lions senior side off the bench, and 22-year-old Sam Francis has eight games under his belt, while more experienced youngsters, such as Jarod Cairns and Renzo du Plessis, add to the young feel in the group.
Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse admitted that although not all of the youngsters were expected to play, that the coaching group had faith in them if they needed to step in, and that the tour would be a great experience for them.
Ready to play
“We wouldn’t send them over if we didn’t expect them to be able to play. They might not be front runners (for the match 23), but if something happens in training or the night before the game (injury or illness), they will have to step in,” explained Pieterse.
“But this is an awesome opportunity for these youngsters (to experience a tour). A few weeks ago Siya (Dube) was at home and he wasn’t even thinking about rugby, but with our prop injuries he came into the picture. He played a game against the Leopards last week Friday, and did very well.
“All of those guys are training well and really are the next guys in line at the moment if there’s injuries. So it is a good opportunity just for them to see another side of the world and be part of the team and see how we travel and what we do.”
After flopping in their Challenge Cup opener against Benetton at Ellis Park last weekend, disappointingly going down 26-18, the Lions have to win to keep alive their hopes of a home playoff in the competition, while a loss could leave their knockout chances hanging by a thread.
“We need a win, especially after this weekend, so we’re going to go there for a win and if these youngsters can stand up and bring the energy and go showcase how we actually wanted to play this past weekend, that will be very nice,” said Pieterse.
“If these guys play well, maybe they deserve a chance in the URC games (going forward). So, we’ll see how it goes.”
Meanwhile, the Lions announced Wednesday that springbok scrumhalf Morné van den Berg has extended hos contract with the union until June 2028. This follows the news earlier in the week that Ruan Venter and Quan Horn had also both re-signed until June 2028.
