Lions assistant coach Pieterse praises impact of substitutes in breathing life into Zebre clash

Lions forwards coach Barend Pieterse praised the impact the bench made in bringing them back into the weekend’s match against Zebre, even though the Joburgers were unable to hold out and lost the second-round match by two points at the death in Parma.

The Lions trailed 12-3 at half-time, but the introduction of fresh legs in the second stanza injected new life into their play, stabilising the set piece and ensuring they enjoyed more front-foot ball. 

Prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye was immense in the tight phases and open play, often requiring two or more Zebre defenders to bring him down. The hard-running Morne Brandon was also a handful for the Italians and his try was no more than his efforts deserved.

Of the backline replacements, flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela was able to able to keep Zebre pinned back and constantly threatened the line.

Replacement scrumhalf Haashim Pead also upped the tempo of the Lions’ play with his crisp delivery and his clever chip over the top resulted in Brandon’s try in another sparkling cameo for the Junior Bok star.        

Pieterse was pleased with the impact the substitutes were able to make, in comparison to the opening-round defeat against Cardiff. Bench depth has often been a concern for the Joburg franchise. 

“We felt that after the Cardiff game, the guys that came off the bench were really young and inexperienced and then we sort of tried to get a little bit more experience off the bench for this game,” he said, at an online media briefing from Treviso, where the Lions are preparing to take on Benetton this weekend.

"In any game if there’s injuries where we’ll have to make changes, but we’re really pleased to get that impact from the bench for this week."

Flyhalf Chris Smith, who made a welcome return to the Lions’ starting lineup on Sunday, has faced Benetton a number of times in Bulls colours, and expects a tough battle against a team loaded with Italian internationals. 

“They‘re stacked with internationals, so they know how to put you under pressure. It’s definitely going to be a pressure game,” he said. 

“Hopefully, we can match their Test-match intensity and return with a Test-match style of play, but it’s an awesome opportunity with an awesome challenge that we’re obviously also looking forward to. We know the beast that lies ahead but we’re definitely up for it.”

Springbok scrumhalf Morne van den Berg could be an option in the No 9 jersey, having arrived in Italy before the rest of the team after being a key part of the national team’s Rugby Championship triumph.  

“He brings nice energy and new ideas that he learnt from the Boks, so it’s great to have him here,” Pieterse said.

He also confirmed that centre Richard Kriel, who has been one the Lions’ standout players so far in the competition, was fine despite a concussion scare.