Cavaliers fired up to see where they stand against the Lions
The Boland Cavaliers are finally ready to take the next step and test themselves against one of the country's 'big four' when they take on the Lions in their Currie Cup encounter at the Boland Stadium in Wellington on Sunday afternoon.
The Western Cape side, back in the country's oldest club competition for the first time since 2016, have already made a splash, after stunning the Cheetahs in an epic in their opening match, before battling out an entertaining clash with the Griquas in Kimberley last weekend.
The brilliant 37-35 win over the Free Staters, and bonus point picked up for scoring four tries in their 48-39 loss against the Northern Cape side, has given them six points from their opening two games, putting them fifth on the eight team log.
But they face a completely different challenge against one of the early competition favourites, the Lions, who are second on the log on points difference, having picked up two bonus point wins, and the Cavaliers are fired up to see where they stand against them.
'Since I joined Boland in March last year, we have only played the 'B' division teams, as well as the Cheetahs, Pumas and Griquas. So it's nice to finally get a chance to play against some of the bigger teams in SA rugby,' said Cavaliers head coach Hawies Fourie.
'It will be a good challenge for us to see where we are and what we need to work and improve on. It's also a home game for us and we want to use our home ground advantage as much as possible. So we want to get stuck into the Lions to see what we can do.'
Strong Lions
The Lions have backed a relatively strong squad for the Currie Cup, as they look to go one further than their runner-up finish last year, and have a large group of players who although not first choice, have plenty of URC experience.
It is thus a wonderful chance for the Cavaliers to come up against players who have featured at a higher level, and see where they stand.
'Earlier in the year before the start of the SA Cup we played against the Stormers 'B' team. It was a good challenge for us and we managed to win that game, which was a good confidence booster going into the SA Cup,' said Fourie.
'So playing guys from the Lions who are at a similar level, are in form and have scored a lot of points in the first two games is a great opportunity for us. They have proved that they are right up there with the Bulls as favourites for the competition.
'We are looking forward to the game, and for a number of our players who haven't played at this level and against a team of this calibre before, it will be the perfect chance to prove themselves.'
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