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Lions boss Van Rooyen considering his options for Perpignan battle

Although they need to win to secure their place in the Challenge Cup knockouts, the Lions may still rotate their squad a bit for their final pool clash against USA Perpignan in France on Saturday. On Tuesday they named a strong touring squad for their two-match European tour, which starts in France this weekend and ends in Wales next week when they take on Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship (URC). But it will be a short turnaround, as they take on the Welsh side next Friday night, and coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted that they may name a mix and match team to take on Perpignan. That could be a bit of a risk, but it is not the worst decision as the Lions players endured a bruising battle against Lyon at Ellis Park this past weekend, before heading off on Tuesday on a long trip to the south of France. Excited “We are really excited for the tour. Two weeks, one in the EPCR (Challenge Cup) and one in the URC,” said Van Rooyen as the team departed. “It is apparently really cold in Europe and that’s something we have to get ready for. It might influence the way we play a little bit and how we approach the game. “In terms of the squad it’s nice to get some of the senior guys back (traveling). When we arrive there (in Perpignan) we will do final checks on how they are tracking and how they are feeling. So we might still rotate a little this week and then get everyone ready for Ospreys next week.” The Lions’ hard fought 42-33 win over Lyon last Saturday was vitally important as it kept them in the play-off hunt, after they had only picked up one losing bonus point from their first two pool games, as they went down to Benetton at home and Newcastle Red Bulls away. Qualification They have thus snuck into the fourth and final qualification position currently, level on points with Perpignan, so know a win will see them go through, but a loss will open the door for both teams below them, Dragons and Lyon, to possibly move ahead if they win their matches. Van Rooyen said that the team had done a full review after they were pushed by current bottom team Lyon, and that they had identified where they needed to improve. “Coming off that win, on review, we feel that we were still sloppy at times. We allowed them to turn over our ball too much,” explained Van Rooyen. “But to get a win at home to keep us alive in the competition was our goal for the weekend. We achieved that and that means we now have an opportunity to progress.”

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