Johannesburg - If their words are anything to go by, then you should expect a massive backlash from the Emirates Lions on Saturday at Loftus Versveld when they face the Vodacom Bulls (kick-off 3pm) in what is shaping up to be a United Rugby Championship grudge match.
Every member of the Lions that has spoken this past week, has done so with an angry, almost embarrassed tone regarding their 34-10 loss to the self-same team at Emirates Airline Park last week. Indeed, after the defeat, Jaco Kriel stated unapologetically: “Every single one of us is going to have a hard look at ourselves and we must realise that it is a huge privilege to be here.”
A few days later, the Emirates Lions defence coach and Springbok legend Jaque Fourie said: “If you don’t have the heart and the attitude on the field, you can only take the horse so far …”
On Wednesday, while speaking to Independent Media, Lions tighthead confirmed the suspicion that there were some hard words exchanged this week within the squad.
“The quality of rugby we played this past weekend wasn’t good enough,” said Sadie.
“We had a chat on Monday and Jaco and the senior guys said, ‘Listen here boys, this isn’t who we are. We need to stand up from here and show the people what we actually stand for.’
“We’ve got through a lot of work that was done on Monday and Tuesday to rectify all the mistakes that we made because I just think it was one of those days that nothing worked ...
“With Jaco being honest, he didn’t do any talking around the bush, he was quite straight. He said, ‘listen, it’s just not good enough,’ and that is what we need from a senior player like Jaco.
“With Jaque,” Sadie continued, “he is very proud of his job and the guys respect him a lot, so when it comes to defence we know we need to step up. He has been hard on our case and obviously that is what we need. This weekend will be a great opportunity just to show the people this is who we are and hopefully that will continue in the upcoming games.”
And Sadie gave a little insight into what the team will need to be rectified this weekend in the United Rugby Championship clash.
“The thing that we have realized is that we need to get the basics right and then we can start doing the X-factor stuff,” the 24-year-old said.
“We’ve got a lot of players with X-factor, but let’s just focus on making our first-time hits and then we can start doing the fancy stuff ... For us this past week, we just said let’s stick to the basics, let's get back to playing rugby, enjoying it and just going out and showing people what we can do.
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen names his matchday 23 on Friday, and there will certainly be changes to the team.
There will in all probability be a new second-row combination after Willem Albert injured his knee against the Bulls this past weekend. Emmanuel Tshituka, preferred so far this past month as a loosie, could stand-in at lock. Ruhan Straeuli, however, probably has the inside-lane as he is one of the team’s line-out callers.
Skipper Burger Odendaal, meanwhile, is in doubt as he suffered concussion in the same match, and the associated protocols might call for him to miss the Loftus clash.
Manuel Rass could be selected to cover at inside centre, but Van Rooyen could surprise by selecting James Mollentze. Pumas loanee Matt More sat on the bench in the Sharks clash a fortnight ago, and could be elevated to the starting XV and into the No 12 jersey.