Coach Ivan van Rooyen praised the calibre of Sanele Nohamba and Morne van den Berg as the duo helped the Lions beat the Sharks at a wet Ellis Park on Saturday.
The versatile halfbacks were instrumental in guiding the Johannesburgers to a bonus-point 40-10 win in the rain-affected Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby clash on the Highveld.
Nohamba, who started at scrumhalf after featuring prominently at flyhalf this season, scored a try and helped create two more in the first half before being substituted as an injury precaution.
Van den Berg slotted in at 9 seamlessly as the Lions notched three more tries in the second stanza, which was delayed by 40 minutes due to inclement weather.
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Both playmakers are set to join the Springboks’ first alignment camp of the year in Cape Town from Monday, and speaking post-match on Saturday, Van Rooyen told reporters: “I’ve said before, it’s simply amazing having guys of that calibre and character in the team.
“The great thing about players like Sanele and Morne is that they’re not just preoccupied with giving their all for the team, they are tough, mentally strong players, who make good decisions on the field.
“These guys are always ‘all-in’. Not to mention their versatility in terms of being able to cover more than one position and the ability to unlock defences and create scoring opportunities. It’s a privilege.”
RECAP: Lions tear apart Sharks
The Sharks lost skipper Bongi Mbonambi to the sin-bin for collapsing a maul after the restart but managed the numerical disadvantage well, before Lions replacements Conrad van Vuuren, Erich Cronje and Hanru Sirgel dotted down.
Skipper Marius Louw noted that the second-half delay actually “helped” the team: “It really helped us in a sense. We spoke about several scenarios, what would we do in this situation and what would we do in the other one. We took stock of what we had planned and the ‘pictures’ we created.
“It really helped us. We really felt in control.”
“To be honest, we left them all to themselves for at least 20 minutes,” Van Rooyen added.
“We knew the chances of going back onto the field in the usual window were very slim. We were about to start with our normal protocol before we heard the news of the delay, where we then said to each other we’re probably going to have to sit here for a while.
“So, I told them to relax, refuel and rehydrate. After that period, we debriefed on the first half, prepared for the warm-up, and were ready to play.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/INPHO/Shutterstock
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