Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies has warned his teammates of the threat the Japanese Sunwolves will pose in Super Rugby.
Jantjies is back in Johannesburg after a second season in Japan’s Top League with the NTT Shining Arcs. He is determined to make sure the Lions don’t suffer the fate of the Springboks when they lost to Japan in their opening match of last year's World Cup.
‘The Japanese team are going to pose a different challenge to what we’re used to,’ Jantjies told The Times. ‘They give a lot of line-speed on defence – mostly channel defence. I could foresee that the Boks were going to have problems against Japan in the World Cup last year.
‘They are tough and they give everything. South African rugby’s strong points are physical dominance and we will have to play to those strengths to beat the Sunwolves. They are going to bring something different, but we will have to pitch up.
‘I’ll show management a few things and discuss what to expect with the players as well. We’ve got to get a good start against the Sunwolves [on 27 February].’
The Lions play warm-up games against the Valke, Leopards, Bulls and Jaguars before they face the Sunwolves in their opening match of this year’s Super Rugby competition.
Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
