No 'Russian roll-over' for Lions

Lions captain JC Janse van Rensburg has put his team on notice ahead of the second outing of their 2013 Challenge Series.

The Johannesburg-based franchise - who was kicked out of Super Rugby last year - started their year with an emphatic 51-13 roll-over of a hapless Russian national team at Ellis Park last Saturday.

It was a good win for the young Lions outfit - who was without a host of senior players, either loaned or sold to other Super Rugby franchises.

However, their next outing - against the Cheetahs this coming Saturday - will be a far more formidable challenge.

"Hendrik Roodt and I had a good chuckle, saying that anybody who thought the Russians were a challenge will get a good wake-up call against the Cheetahs," Van Rensburg told this website in an interview.

"They [the Cheetahs] are really tough.

"The Cheetahs are a proud team and when you face the Cheetahs you must gear up for a huge forward onslaught."

The Lions captain - one of a handful of senior players who opted to stay put in Johannesburg and help the team prepare for the season-ending promotion relegation game against the last-placed South African Super Rugby team - felt that there will be plenty of value in visiting Ellis Park on Saturday.

"The Cheetahs and ourselves play a very similar, exciting game," Van Rensburg told this website.

"We are prepared for that and it will be an exciting encounter, especially for the supporters .

"I get the sense that the spectators are eager to see some rugby and this pre-season game will hopefully live up to their expectation."

By Jan de Koning