The Lions have shed further light on the decision to take a heavily-changed squad over to the south of France for the Challenge Cup opener against Perpignan.
A 26-player squad announced on Tuesday was made up of a mix of youthful products who could make their tournament debuts and senior veterans waiting for their first runs this season.
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Starting lineup regulars such as captain Marius Louw, scrumhalf/flyhalf Sanele Nohamba and No 8 Francke Horn have all stayed in Johannesburg to prepare for the following weekend’s second-round clash with English side Newcastle Falcons.
During an online media briefing on Tuesday, Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys explained that the travel factor has influenced the decision to take a change squad for Sunday’s match.
“I think it’s really interesting how we have to go about it. If you look at our travel, we leave for France on Wednesday evening, arrive on Thursday afternoon, then we still have a bus drive,” Redelinghuys said. “We are only flying home on Monday evening and then arrive here late on Tuesday afternoon.
“To be able to travel with one squad, or say the same 23 for both games, only arrive home on Tuesday and have to perform on Saturday, that’s really tough. That’s why you will see the teams looking to manage the squad. It also helps with building squad depth and rewarding the guys who have been working really hard, while the other guys were playing.
“We’ve seen that’s how some of the teams are doing it. I think we will see it more from the South African teams going forward.”
A former Lions and Springbok prop, Redelinghuys experienced his own share of lengthy travel when the South African teams were still involved in Super Rugby with Australia and New Zealand.
“I must say, I’m really short, so economy class is like business class to me anyway,” he joked.
“What we were used to in Super Rugby, we were travelling through either Sydney or it was straight flights and we all had business class. A few junior guys sat in economy, or premier economy.
“Now we all have connecting flights through Qatar or Dubai, but we aren’t in the game of complaining. That’s the cards we’ve been delt and we will take it on the chin.
“The really important thing is our recovery after travelling,” Redelinghuys added. “That’s where I think we have made a massive step up. Our travel time is around 23 hours, but the big thing for us is to recover well to play on the weekend.”
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