THIS IS THE week it all began to feel real for the British and Irish Lions. It’s one thing to collect your bags of new kit, sweat your way through a training camp and enjoy a high-scoring send-off in front of 16,000 fans in Murrayfield, but this is where the tour really starts, with the Lions today taking on their first South African opposition as they meet the Gauteng Lions in Johannesburg [KO 5pm, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action].
And after last Saturday’s comfortable win over Japan – injuries aside – it should be another relatively stress-free outing for Warren Gatland’s band of brothers.
The Gauteng Lions have, to be blunt, enjoyed a pretty miserable year.
They won just one game from six in the South African edition of the Rainbow Cup, and also picked up just one victory in the Super Rugby Unlocked competition before that.
And with the current group looking light on experience, this is expected to be the most straightforward of the Lions’ fixtures in South Africa, as they come up against a young, relatively inexperienced team at the Emirates Airline Park.
One of the few familiar names in the Gauteng Lions ranks, prop Jannie du Plessis, misses out, meaning the 70-cap Springbok won’t get the rare milestone of playing against the Lions in two separate tours, having featured for the Sharks back in 2009.
They are also without the services of Elton Jantjies and centre Wandisile Simelane, who were both part of the Springboks squad that played Georgia last night, while there’s also no room for flanker Jaco Kriel.
So, who to keep an eye on?
Some Scotland fans will remember Nathan McBeth, a former Scotland U20 player who starts at loosehead, while tighthead Ruan Dreyer spend two years at Gloucester without ever making an impact in the first team.
Former Sevens star Jamba Ulengo brings pace and a high workrate on the wing having overcome a long-term knee injury, and a strong, powerful bench has the potential to make the game interesting in the second period.
Captain Francke Horn in an exciting prospect, the 22-year-old flanker impressing during the Rainbow Cup, while 20-year-old out-half Jordan Hendrikse has been labelled “a special talent” by his head coach, Ivan van Rooyen.
They will look to play an attacking game but could struggle against what is a powerful and far more experienced British and Irish Lions team.
It’s not that long since the Gauteng Lions were a respected force, losing three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018, but this is a transitional period for the club, who will play under the Sigma Lions name for this first team today following a new sponsorship deal.
The hope is that their move to the new United Rugby Championship next season will provide some much-needed stability and help the squad rebuild following the disruption of the last 12 months.
The touring Lions will be aiming to adapt to their surroundings, find some cohesion and build on the promining passages of play we saw against Japan, even if wing Josh Adam is the only player retained in the starting XV.
This will be the squad’s first match at altitude, with the game taking place over a mile above sea level. The pre-tour training camp in Jersey included a big focus on preparing for the challenge of playing at such a height, with the players getting the miles in on exercise bikes while using altitude masks.
How much rugby they will actually play at altitude is still anyone’s guess. It is expected that the worrying Covid situation in South Africa will see the bulk of the Lions’ games moved to Cape Town, but at the moment, no decision has been confirmed.
On Thursday, over 21,000 new Covid cases were reported in the Gauteng province, the highest numbers for six months.
With that in mind, it’s been a strange week for Gatland’s tourists who have been settling into a new bubble environment, the few small liberties on offer in Jersey stripped back even further as South Africa battles its latest wave of infection. The chance to actually get out and play their first match in South Africa will have felt a long time coming.
Gatland’s team selection for the game is an intriguing one – with seven players set to make their Lions debuts – and hints and what we may see further down the line.
The Irish interest is limited to the presence of Iain Henderson and Bundee Aki on the bench. Both men impressed against Japan last week and strong cameos here will further push their case for the Test team.
The man taking Aki’s place, Owen Farrell, is one of Gatland’s more interesting calls. The England and Saracens man was selected as an out-half for the tour, and Gatland has confirmed that he will get his chance at 10 soon, but lines out in the 12 shirt having come off the bench to play in the same position last weekend.
With Finn Russell in the driving seat at 10, it will be fascinating to see how the pair work together.
Gatland obviously likes the physicality Farrell brings to the midfield, and Scotland 10 Russell will hope his ‘mercurial’ tag doesn’t crop up too often across the next month. Russell has the quality to light up any Test game, but the game-changing moments he can produce come at a cost, with his performances too often pockmarked by errors. This game should at least offer him a platform to get up and running on the tour, but he faces a big challenge to stake a claim for the Test team.
He needs to offer control in the position without trying to force those moments of magic, and will likely appreciate the familiar face of Ali Price at scrum-half.
His Scotland teammate, Stuart Hogg, is reliable and assured at fullback, but will also be keen to impress given Liam Williams’ confident performance against the Brave Blossoms, while there should be plenty of opportunities to get the ball into the hands of Wales flyer Louis Rees-Zammit.
Up front, there’s a very English feel to the Lions pack, which was to be expected given the bulk of the England contingent sat out the Japan game.
It’s hard to look past Kyle Sinckler as the main point of interest here, given his emotional reaction to missing out the initial squad and subsequent inclusion on the back of Andrew Porter’s injury.
The Bristol tighthead clearly felt he should have been made the cut first time around, so Gatland will want him to channel his aggression and explosive power positively, and not get sucked into the discipline issues which continue to creep into his game.
Maro Itoje may feel slighted after seeing Conor Murray handed the Lions captaincy last week, but remains on course to play a key role for the tourists, while Hamish Watson will look to build on his excellent Six Nations form on what will be his Lions debut. Sam Simmonds, the Premiership Player of the Year, will also hope to make a big impact of the bench after being continually overlooked by England head coach Eddie Jones.
So, lots of intrigue, plenty of players out to impress, some new combinations who will be hoping to gel together quickly, and by the end of it all we should have a clearer idea of how the tourists are shaping up after their first week in South Africa as some new faces get their shot in the Lions shirt.
Tour after tour, the message from above never really changes – you’ve got to take your opportunities when you get them.
SIGMA LIONS: EW Viljoen; Jamba Ulengo, Manuel Rass, Burger Odendaal, Rabz Maxwane; Jordan Hendrikse, Dillon Smit; Nathan McBeth, PJ Botha, Ruan Dreyer, Ruben Schoeman, Reinhard Nothnagel, Sbusiso Sangweni, Vincent Tshituka, Francke Horn (captain).
Replacements: Jaco Visagie, Sti Sithole, Carlu Sadie, Ruhan Straeuli, Emmanuel Tshituka, Morne van den Berg, Fred Zeilinga, Dan Kriel.
BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: Stuart Hogg (captain); Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris, Owen Farrell, Josh Adams; Finn Russell, Ali Price; Wyn Jones, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, Jonny Hill; Courtney Lawes, Hamish Watson, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Zander Fagerson, Iain Henderson, Sam Simmonds, Gareth Davies, Bundee Aki, Elliot Daly.
Referee: AJ Jacobs (SAR)
