Ivan van Rooyen aims to deploy every member of the Lions touring squad to fight a battle across three Investec Champions Cup and URC fixtures.
The head coach on Monday named a 30-man group for the Joburgers’ European cup clash against French club La Rochelle this week, before back-to-back URC matches in Scotland.
The Pride will make their Champions Cup debut at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday, following a heavy Jukskei derby defeat that saw Van Rooyen’s men slip to seventh on the URC table.
Fronting the media after the 57-15 loss to the Bulls, the Lions chief addressed the challenges overseas and what’s needed to bounce back to winning ways after wins over Leinster and the Ospreys at Ellis Park to kick off the 2026-27 season.
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“Our first game in the Champions Cup, so we’d like to start that strong. We’re flying on Monday night already,” he said.
“Then we’ve got Edinburgh and Glasgow, which seem to be wet and cold already on that surface. We know it’s going to be quick and a bit of a different game. We’ve got a big three weeks ahead of us.
“We need to respond well. It’s up to us to make a decision. We can really sulk about this [result], or we can collectively pull in.
“There’s no decision to be made – it’s just to get collectively back on the horse, jump on the plane and go fight that battle.
“We lost this one today. Now it’s up to us to see what we can do in the next three.”
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The Lions leaked nine tries at Loftus, and Van Rooyen acknowledged that any system weaknesses this week will be exploited by the former European champions.
“La Rochelle will have a look at the game because their pack is about a tonne. They’ll identify one or two things, and the first fix [for us] will be our vacuum defence,” he said.
“We haven’t been exploited there thus far this season. But before that, we’ve got to get our heads up and mentally get ready.”
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On the likelihood of heavy rotation on tour, Cash added: “I think Rassie [Erasmus] said it as well: the moment you play two or three consecutive physical games, it does take a bit of a toll.
“So, ja, we’re going to take 30 guys on tour and hope to use all of them really well and give everyone good minutes.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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Ivan van Rooyen aims to deploy every member of the Lions touring squad to fight a battle across three Investec Champions Cup and URC fixtures.
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