SUDDENLY, THIS LIONS tour just got a lot more interesting.
Alun Wyn Jones is set for a sensational return to Warren Gatland’s squad, Ireland’s Rónan Kelleher is lined up to join them, key man Robbie Henshaw is nearing a return from his hamstring injury and, most importantly, the rugby is about to get serious.
So far, the Lions have made light work of beating the Sigma Lions and the Sharks [twice] but they will get a proper test of their quality on Wednesday after Rassie Erasmus named a South Africa A side that is essentially the Springboks minus the players currently isolating due to Covid-19.
World Cup-winning stars like Cheslin Kolbe, Faf de Klerk, Lukhanyo Am, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Eben Etzebeth all start – there are 18 of the squad from Japan involved in total – while there’s a welcome return from burn injuries for Munster’s Damian de Allende.
The Lions have named a strong team too and this midweek fixture has all the makings of a fourth Test.
It’s worth remembering that the Springboks spent all of last week self-isolating in their hotel rooms after their Covid outbreak. They only returned to training yesterday and many of these players last featured at Test level in the 2019 World Cup final.
So we should expect some rust, of course, but this is still likely to be a full-blooded, riveting affair in Cape Town on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be pretty much a Test match if you look at their line-up,” said Lions captain Conor Murray, who starts alongside Dan Biggar.
“It’s going to be a really intense game, it’s going to be a trial run for the Tests or almost a fourth Test.
“Since we arrived in Cape Town, players have switched into a little bit more serious mode in terms of our prep, the edge that we have in training. Having seen the South Africa A line-up, it will only sharpen our focus even more.
“It’s going to be a real battle, it’s almost like a fourth Test. It’s a massive challenge and good prep for what’s to come.”
Lions boss Warren Gatland was similarly enthused by the team Erasmus named.
With just 12 days until the Test series gets underway, Gatland is keen for his squad to get a genuine challenge.
“They’ve gone as strong as they possibly can given that they still have some players unavailable,” said Gatland. “It’s going to be a good test for us.
“I probably wasn’t expecting them to be as strong as they are, they’re obviously short of games, but I’m absolutely delighted with the team they’ve put out because that helps our preparation immensely.
“We’ll get a bit of a feel of where we are and what things we need to work on in the 10 days leading into the first Test. I’m really pleased with how strong that team is because even though it’s a South Africa A team, it’s going to be a tough challenge and everything is about winning the Test series and preparing for that.
“I keep referring back to 2009 when we had the first Test – we had played teams that were understrength in terms of not having their Springboks and we weren’t quite ready or we thought we were a little bit better prepared than we were.
“That’s in the back of my mind so the fact that I’ve seen that side, we’ll get a good indication of where both teams are after Wednesday night’s match.”
There is no doubt that Gatland’s players can make a huge claim for Test starts on Wednesday and Murray said there has already been such talk among the squad.
“Since we reached Cape Town [yesterday], all the players are aware that the Tests are only around the corner,” said Murray.
“There have been a few little chats among the players that things are getting serious now with selection and things. There’s going to be a noticeable edge to training, you would imagine, in the lead-up to Wednesday and Saturday’s games.
“Since we moved here, the focus has definitely shifted a bit toward the more serious end of the tour which is exciting.”
