‘Heinke to boss Brian’
10 Mar 2009
Lions forwards coach Leon Boshoff says Heinke van der Merwe will target Brian Mujati come scrum-time at Newlands on Saturday.
Mujati left the Lions at the end of 2007 after the Stormers found a loophole in his contract and the tighthead left Johannesburg on bad terms. Last year included peaks and troughs for the Zimbabwean, as he earned his Springbok debut but struggled to make the step up to the international stage.
Van der Merwe played in his first and only Test in late 2007, and although he wasn’t in the Bok Test squad last year, bossing Mujati at scrum-time will only boost his national credentials.
The tighthead side is the point of attack for any scrum and Boshoff made no secret of the fact that Van der Merwe will attempt to unsettle Mujati at the set-piece.
“We know Brian very well,” Boshoff told keo.co.za, “we know all his ins and outs. I’m positive Heinke will come out on top in the personal battle. I’m sure Brian will be worried about Heinke, while Heinke will definitely target him at the scrum.
“Brian also struggles with his right wrist, which makes it tough for him to bind - we’ve done our homework and we know that.”
Van der Merwe missed the Lions’ last fixture (a 16-9 defeat to the Bulls) after he was banned for a dangerous tackle on Frans Steyn, and Boshoff believes this will motivate the loosehead further.
“Heinke’s a senior player in the squad even though he’s young [23], and him being back will give the rest of the side a lot of confidence. The pack relies on him to get us on the front foot and he is extremely important to the front row,” said Boshoff.
Van der Merwe is lauded as the backbone of the Lions’ pack, but Boshoff also reserved special praise for hooker Willie Wepener.
“Teams with strong hookers have strong packs, look at the Sharks, Waratahs, and Crusaders when they had Corey Flynn. In my eyes Willie is the third best No 2 in this country, and should be in Bok contention. You need strong scrummaging hookers.”
Although the Stormers haven’t been convincing at this set-piece at the start of the campaign, Boshoff is not under-estimating their pack.
“They don’t have the strongest scrum in the competition, and struggled against the Blues, but they were better against the Bulls. That will give them confidence, and confidence is key at scrum-time, which will boost them against us,” he said.
Although the Lions’ scrum has been solid, the lineout has been a glaring weakness. This has been an area where the Stormers have excelled and Boshoff realises improvement is non-negotiable.
“We beat the Cheetahs while losing many lineouts, so it shows that it’s not such an important area any more, but it has to improve. It is a good platform to attack from, but what is more vital is controlling broken play after putting the phases together from the set-pieces.”
In other team news, Jannes Labuschagne has returned to training after minor knee surgery and could come onto the bench.
By Grant Ball
43 Comments
10 Mar 2009, 01:15 am
To easy dragons.
Hope the Lions make a good account of themselves
10 Mar 2009, 02:15 am
Asseblief Leeus. Wen tog net….
10 Mar 2009, 03:36 am
“In my eyes Willie is the third best hooker in this country, and should be in Bok contention”
Yep no kidding it’s not rocket science…
Smit, Bismark, Wepener, Strauss…
10 Mar 2009, 05:31 am
#2 Ed_the_Lion: Wat is julle kanse Ed?
10 Mar 2009, 06:06 am
Ag foitog Leon Boshoff, clutching at straws again
Heinke is superman, Brian has a sore wrist, line outs are not important ….blah blah blah….
Let them do the talking on the field rather.
10 Mar 2009, 06:12 am
Lions by 1.
10 Mar 2009, 06:14 am
#6 anderkantdiewater: Hehehe so positive!
10 Mar 2009, 06:24 am
#7 Koos: On the other thread I will say Stormer by 1.
10 Mar 2009, 06:25 am
#8 anderkantdiewater: So its a draw then…
10 Mar 2009, 06:30 am
#9 Koos: Lets say it this way. A draw to the Lions.
10 Mar 2009, 06:31 am
#10 anderkantdiewater: Bwhahahaha clear as mud!
10 Mar 2009, 07:06 am
The same way Mujati was to struggle against Guthro ha ha
10 Mar 2009, 07:12 am
Brian is overratted if not overhyped in paast.
Heinkie will screw him good.
Willie is very underrated hooker. Tvl scrum shouldd dominate.
10 Mar 2009, 07:36 am
#12 The_duke: Guthro is a jelly baby.
10 Mar 2009, 07:45 am
LOL!
Willie Wepener couldn’t find his jumper with a beachball in the lineouts! Third best hooker in the country?! Ha ha ha!
#13 greatest13gerber:
I don’t think that this is a fair commment. Mujati was exceptional throughout the Super 14 last year. He struggled come scrum time at international level but he is a good, mobile young player learing his craft and will only mature as a good prop in a couple of years.
10 Mar 2009, 07:51 am
Brits faced two very mediocre hookers last week. He must be having nightmares facing Wepener this weekend. Going to see him in the backline even more?
10 Mar 2009, 07:52 am
#13 greatest13gerber:
Hey old-school chap… Transvaal and Northern Transvaal no longer exist. The Stormers are playing the Lions on Saturday, who are from Gauteng. Transvaal and N. Transvaal have been relugated to the history books, THEY NO LONGER EXIST.
Build a bridge, get over it, and while you are at it take the old south african flag sticker that you probably have on your car off!
10 Mar 2009, 07:53 am
#17 Dazzler:
Just don’t let him know that Johannesburg central is now a cesspool of murder, rape and drugs…
10 Mar 2009, 08:21 am
Dazzler – Are you a Bulls fan?
10 Mar 2009, 08:27 am
#19 Vibes:
Nope, a Stormers fan in fact. But that is neither here nor there.
This old South African mentality really needs to die out now, its tired. Times have changed and people need to accept it and stop living in the past.
My own (step) grandfather is one of those, and we regularly argue about it. He longs for the days of apartheid and fails to see what was wrong with it, it’s sad. He is an ex-Bulls player in fact.
10 Mar 2009, 08:47 am
Mujati kakked all over Guthro last week.
10 Mar 2009, 08:50 am
Aag f@k Boshoff, dis die selfde Lion pak wat laasjaar in die S14 en CC teen die Stormers en WP geskrum het, en die Lions het altwee daai games verloor!! Die Lions moet ophou om te dink as hulle teen die WP/Stormers verloor sonder om ‘n bonuspunt aftestaan hulle ‘n goeie seisoen het!!
10 Mar 2009, 08:53 am
The WP light five no match for the Lions powerpack.
10 Mar 2009, 08:54 am
#22 KingPaul: Die seer lê diep sien ek hehehehe
10 Mar 2009, 08:54 am
“We beat the Cheetahs while losing many lineouts, so it shows that it’s not such an important area any more…”
Now come on, this must be the dumbest statement made in a long time.
10 Mar 2009, 08:57 am
#14 K9 PAVEMENT-SPECIAL
then thats a whole load of jelly,
and what of FDP bullying Wicus Blauw ,I thought the front row had rules regarding pesky halfbacks.
10 Mar 2009, 09:56 am
“Brian also struggles with his right wrist, which makes it tough for him to bind – we’ve done our homework and we know that.”
yes we know the Zimbo quite well and I fear that he is in for a roggering come scrum time.
10 Mar 2009, 09:57 am
#2 Ed_the_Lion: stem saam
10 Mar 2009, 09:58 am
#6 anderkantdiewater: Agreed, I say by 1-10
10 Mar 2009, 10:03 am
#13 greatest13gerber: Correct 100%
10 Mar 2009, 10:04 am
#23 K9 Pavement-special: Amen brother – those Brokeback mountaineers are in for it
10 Mar 2009, 10:06 am
#16 K9 Pavement-special: Brits is a centre of note, he will definitely get a lesson on being a hooker by Willie.
10 Mar 2009, 10:08 am
#25 Dumb Supporter: hey Dumb I agree with you … that is a dumb thing to say.
10 Mar 2009, 10:31 am
#31 RedLion: Rooileeu…moet nie te gou praat nie…jys nogal geneig om dit te doen
Ek sou nie my geld so maklik op die leeus sit nie…daai WP light five mag dalk vir ou Heinke veras saterdag…kom ons kyk maar eers en praat maandag.
10 Mar 2009, 10:32 am
verras nie veras nie..haha
10 Mar 2009, 12:59 pm
im sick of this Lions KAK.
Always claiming to have “hardegat” forwards
Hard,tough loosefwds
Workmanlike/skilled backs
Play with Honour yada yada yada
pfffff
Still catch it year after year after year
team of no hopers
at least you can see at the Stormers there is TALENT there-a few missing pieces(upfront&mentality/attitude shift needed)
lIONS ARE RUNNING AT FULL TILT WITH THE TALENT THEY HAVE AT THEIR DISPOSAL
The constant acknowledgement of diluted talents like: Ludik,Wepener,Grobelaar,Mentz,Clever,Vermaak,Doppies etc-ITS TIRESOME
Lets be honest only class players are: Fourie,Alberts,Heinke
10 Mar 2009, 14:31 pm
Amazing how psyched up the Lions get themselves when playing against a local side.
Light 5 this ,Light 5 that , I rate the Bulls pack more than the Lions pack and they never drilled us last weekend…
My team ,the Stormers ,were overhyped in the pre-season , even the passionate supporter like myself can admit that.
But so is the talk of our ‘light 5′, totally over hyped to the max. Cheetahs have a solid pack , Lions have a solid pack BUT they battle it out for the wooden spoon every year??
It’s actually quite funny…
10 Mar 2009, 14:38 pm
#26 The_duke:
Watch the full game and you’l see Blauuw landing a lekke spittball in Du Preez’s face. Some of your own medicine right back at you.
10 Mar 2009, 14:47 pm
So this is where the cat fight will be this week, things will become heated…..
10 Mar 2009, 22:53 pm
#4 Koos: Ek begin nou positief voel.
10 Mar 2009, 22:54 pm
#28 RedLion: Dit is bietjie ons beurt.
10 Mar 2009, 23:36 pm
“We beat the Cheetahs while losing many lineouts, so it shows that it’s not such an important area any more, but it has to improve.”
WTF? After the rucks, it is the most important cource of front foot aattacking ball! After a comment like that, perhaps you really shouldn’t be coaching…
Oh and PS thankls for telling the rest of the world about a Bok’s weak points, moron.
10 Mar 2009, 23:39 pm
course = source
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