Lions to lean on Boan Venter ‘insights’ for massive URC clash against Edinburgh

The Lions are looking to lean on the experience of Springbok prop Boan Venter when they take on Edinburgh in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at the DAM Health Stadium in Scotland on Friday night (kick-off 8:45pm).

The 29-year-old former Cheetahs player spent the last five years playing for Edinburgh, making over 100 appearances for them, and his insight into their team and the conditions could prove invaluable for the Lions against an in-form side that have won all their games and currently top the URC log.

Speaking ahead of the match, Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys said that Venter was helping them prepare as best they can for what should be an incredibly tough match.

“He’s got some interesting insights, from knowing the players, the coaches, the field, the environment and the weather well. He’s got some good opinions, which is helping us in our prep,” explained Redelinghuys.

“One comment he made is we’ll maybe be playing the first half (in certain conditions) and come out after half-time, and the weather’s totally different. With the Edinburgh-Stormers game (in round two), we saw that the wind was pumping in the first half and in the second half it died down.”

4G pitch

The Lions will also have to contend with the infamous 4G pitch in Edinburgh, but Redelinghuys dismissed any concerns about it and claimed it actually assisted their game style.

“We try to train on it in the weeks that we play on it, even though the guys will say that you need to manage the load because it is tough on the tendons,” said Redelinghuys.

“A guy like Boan, who’s played there, has some good insights as to what works and what doesn’t. I see there is a lot of speculation in the media, guys are saying they need to do away with these fields. It is interesting.

“But for us, it’s a small part of our season that we play on these fields so we don’t have a strong opinion. It is normally a bit faster, so (in terms of) the way we want to play, it suits us to a certain extent.”

The Lions are also still contending with the sudden shocking loss of teammate Hyron Andrews in France last week before their Champions Cup match against La Rochelle, and Redelinghuys admitted it was tough, but that they were working through it.

“It’s tough circumstances to get that focus, but I’ve been really proud of the boys. “When it’s boots on, it’s switch on, be really connected, and do the job at hand.”

The Lions have lost their last two games, against the Bulls and La Rochelle, so they will also know another loss could set them back badly in terms of their goals for the rest of the season.