‘Krappie’ eager for Gibson-Park battle when Lions face Leinster

Lions scrumhalf Morne ‘Krappie’ van den Berg is eager to take on one of the world’s best number nines, Jamison Gibson-Park, when the Lions front up against defending United Rugby Championship (URC) champs Leinster in Ireland on Saturday.

It is a massive game for both teams who are locked on 53 points each, with the Lions sitting third on the log and Leinster fourth, separated by just points difference, and both teams will be going all out for the win at Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

An enticing battle is brewing between each side’s national scrumhalf, with six-cap Springbok Van den Berg, affectionately known as Krappie, possibly set to face 51-cap Ireland star Gibson-Park.

But with Leinster having qualified for the Champions Cup final, and with the URC playoffs coming up as well, they may look to rest a few players, which could see Krappie miss out on facing Gibson-Park like he did last year.

“I think all of their nines are really classy players. But Jamison is one of the best nines in the world, so it is always good to play against those types of players. I want to play against the best, so if I come up against him, I would love that,” said Van den Berg.

Last year the Lions gave Leinster a run for their money in their clash in Ireland, with the hosts taking a tight 10-6 lead into the halftime break, and extending that to 17-6 after 60 minutes, before a penalty try after the fulltime hooter added gloss to the scoreline of 24-6.

They were well in the game in the second half and had a number of chances to score, but didn’t take them, and that proved costly, though it is something they have learned from.

One kick changed the game

“In that game everything changed when we knocked the ball on in their 22m when we had all the momentum. One kick ended up changing the game. James Lowe kicked almost a 50/22,” explained Van den Berg.

“So we have learned we have to play in the right areas. If you have momentum you have to stay on top of them, and not have soft moments.

“I think in the past we have had a lot of soft moments, where we have switched off mentally a little bit. So it is really important for us to stay focused and keep that pressure on for 80 minutes.”

With the Lions on the verge of a first ever appearance in the URC playoffs, Krappie added that a win over the Irish giants would give the team plenty of confidence heading into the knockout stage.

“I think it will be massive. We are at a place where we are really backing our game, and if we can prove to ourselves that it is even good enough to beat Leinster in Ireland, then we can really back ourselves in the play-offs,” said Van den Berg.

“So we are just going to take it moment by moment and not get ahead of ourselves this weekend, and just really go for it.”