A recent alum of tackle school, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, warned with a smile yesterday that his opponents better beware: he won’t be going soft when it comes to smearing them into the ground.
“Ja,” said the prop wryly of his recent education. “I passed with an A.”
Ntlabakanye copped a three-match suspension on March 24 when it was adjudged that he had made head contact with Connacht loose forward Conor Oliver in the 15th minute of their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash.
Down to 14 men for the rest of the encounter in Galway, the Lions still managed to beat the Irish team 38-14 in what will arguably be remembered as their best match of the campaign.
After attending tackle school while in Wales afterwards, Ntlabakanye’s suspension has been reduced by a week, which means that the 25-year-old will be putting in the big hits against Leinster at Ellis Park on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
He was not the only Lions player back on duty at training at Ellis Park yesterday.
Henco van Wyk, his knee still strapped, will likely resume his partnership with captain Marius Louw this weekend after recovering from an injury sustained against the Sharks in January.
Indeed, at face value, the Lions looked a healthy bunch as they were taken through their paces on a pleasant autumn afternoon in Johannesburg.
Being at full strength will be important in the coming weeks, because the Lions have much to do and very little time to do it in.
Five matches remain to qualify for the play-offs of the URC, and having being recently knocked out of the Challenge Cup, the Lions must have that sole objective in their crosshairs.
Through Ntlabakanye, it seems that the team is well aware of what is required.
“It is a thing that players say a lot,” he admitted, “that we don’t try and look at the log, but we do.
“We don’t really try to focus on how many points we can get out of it, but rather we try and win every single game.”
📢 Joburg! 🔥 ASAP Ntlabakanye calls for your return to Emirates Airline Park this weekend, especially the Gwijo singers! 🎶 Where you at? Let's make some noise! 🙌
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) April 17, 2024
🎟️ https://t.co/yheM4D4AmZ#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/3w4icHo5Db
Currently sitting in 11th on 34 points, the Lions will arguably need 16 more points to give themselves a chance of a quarter-final.
That push starts against the juggernaut that is Leinster on Saturday, and regardless of who they send, they will be a formidable unit – well-drilled, expertly coached and highly motivated.
Said Ntlabakanye: “Leinster are the benchmark in Europe currently.
“We will have our hands full, but what the guys have been doing over the last week or so has been good prep for us. We know what is at stake – the top eight is the focus right now.”
It was a sentiment shared by Ntlabakanye’s more fleet-footed teammate, Edwill van der Merwe.
“The week’s prep so far has been very good, and we are looking forward to being back at home,” said the wing. “It was tough overseas …
“As you can see on the log, everyone is quite closely bunched, so every point is going to be important. There cannot be any slip-ups.
“We can’t give too much away, but we are looking forward to a really good match at home,” Van der Merwe continued.
“At 3pm, it is probably going to be hot on Saturday, and we must use the altitude to our advantage. We must play as a team and use the opportunities that we create.”
The Lions have never beaten Leinster. They had ample opportunity last season, but succumbed 39-36 to an experimental team full of future stars.
Such a result cannot be tolerated this time around, and the Lions will have to play without any sense of fear in attack or defence.
One would expect that would be tough for someone who has just come back from being banned, as is the case with Ntlabakanye, but the mentality of the No 3 seems to be positively robust.
“No, no,” he assured, when speaking of his defensive duties, “I am not going to stop – just going to do it harder in the proper way.”