The Emirates Lions make the trip across the Jukskei this Saturday for Round 9 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship against the Vodacom Bulls. Victory for the men from Johannesburg this weekend could see them shift into the play-off spot zone, something head coach Ivan van Rooyen hopes could build confidence ahead of a gruelling local derby calendar.

“It’s been a 6-day turnaround for us, so it’s been quite a short week preparation-wise. It was important for us to seek alignment and clarity as quick as possible. A short week also forces us to make quick decisions and effective training,” he explains.

“Our synergy has been good this week. We had a good review of what went well and what didn’t work last week.”

Van Rooyen and his troops will take confidence into Saturday knowing that their last trip to Loftus was a successful one, beating their Pretoria rivals 25-29. However, the Lions boss understands the physicality that comes with a local derby.

“We know that if you’re not physical against the Bulls, they’ll get momentum, he warns. With momentum, comes quick ball and offloads. So we know we going to have to front up physically as well be aware of their kicking game and set piece play. The focus therefore for us defensively was to work hard, set quickly and make decisions from there.”

In team news, Hanru Sirgel starts amongst the loose forwards alongside Emmanuel Tshituka and Francke Horn. Morne van den Berg continues his partnership with the Sanele Nohamba, with the latter accumulating 24 points for his team during his team’s last visit to the capital.

Youngster Izan Esterhuizen could be in line for his Vodacom United Rugby Championship debut for the Emirates Lions should he be called upon.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 15:00

Emirates Lions Match 23

1. JP Smith
2. Jaco Visagie
3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye
4. Ruben Schoeman
5. Reinhard Nothnagel
6. Hanru Sirgel
7. Emmanuel Tshituka
8. Francke Horn
9. Morne van den Berg
10. Sanele Nohamba
11. Edwill van der Merwe
12. Marius Louw (c)
13. Henco van Wyk
14. Richard Kriel
15. Quan Horn

Replacements
16. Morne Brandon
17. Morgan Naude
18. Ruan Dreyer
19. Darrien Landsberg
20. Izak Esterhuizen
21. JC Pretorius
22. Jordan Hendrikse
23. Erich Cronje