Adriaanse: 'Props the brainy bunch'

FNB Maties prop Lourens Adriaanse will captain the defending champions in their FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International opener against NMMU on Monday - prompting the big man to suggest that the brains are, indeed, well and truly in the front row.

"We all know that we (front rowers) have the brains," said Adriaanse in typically dry fashion.

"It's an interesting choice," he added, "but it's a huge, huge privilege and honour for me."

The powerhouse tighthead prop is well aware that he is simply filling the boots of new captain Cameron Peverett, who has a rib injury; the back row man having taken over the leadership duties this season from long-time skipper Wesley Wilkins.

"I know that I'm just standing in," he said, "but it really is easy to captain this Maties team. Every guy does his bit... the locks call the lineouts, the backs the backline moves - so I don't see myself as having too much on my plate."

The loss of Peverett aside, the Maties have upped the ante at training this past week; with a host of Western Province squad members 'dropping' down from Stormers duty to play in Monday's first match against the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

"We've lost some experienced players from last season - like Donald Stevens, Wesley Wilkins and Jaco Nepgen, yet we're able to call upon Conrad (Hoffman), Boetie (Britz) and Rynardt (Elsteadt) to replace them - we're pretty fortunate," Adriaanse told varsitycup.co.za.

"(And) the training has been good this week," he added. "We weren't at our sharpest on the training ground last week - but we took it up a notch this week and I can't remember the last time we trained so hard, and effectively, at Stellenbosch."

Looking ahead to Maties' VC opener against NMMU this coming Monday, Adriaanse - who played for the SA Universities team last year - is well aware that the Men in Maroon, and back-to-back champions, will be on everybody's 'hit-list' in 2010.

"The past two seasons have shown that in order to win the Varsity Cup you need to beat the Maties - we know it and it spurs us on," said Lourens, the younger brother of Boland prop Jacobie.

"There is no doubt that NMMU will be up for this game... it's a match they've been training for since the 2010 Varsity Cup schedule was first announced. But the pressure on us aside, all we can do is look ahead and focus on the season ahead - starting with Monday."