Johannesburg - The Pink Army has a rich history that reaches beyond their recent adoption of the pale tint of red as their team brand.
Indeed, Stade Francais, whom the Lions face on Friday (kick-off 7.30pm) in their second Challenge Cup clash at Ellis Park, are one of the most successful clubs in French rugby.
They have won the Top 14 14 times – their last triumph in 2015 – and have been runners-up in that tournament a further nine. Only Toulouse have a better record. On a pan-European stage, Stade Francais have never won the Champions Cup, but have come desperately close in 2001 and 2005.
They have, however, won the Challenge Cup as recently as May 2017 when they beat Gloucester 25-17 at Murrayfield. Stade Francais also played a further two finals in that competition in the 2010s, losing both to Harlequins and Leinster, respectively.
The Paris-based club started this season’s Challenge Cup with a hard-fought 24-14 victory over Benetton, scoring two tries against the Italian franchise in the last 20 minutes, and only really securing the win in the 79th minute, at Stade Jean-Bouin on the outskirts of the French capital.
Currently, they are third in their domestic league behind great cross-city rivals Racing 92 and their nemesis Toulouse.
Stade Francais arguably did not select their full-strength matchday 23 against Benetton, and one can expect the same for the clash against the Lions. This past week, the Joburgers attack coach Ricardo Loubscher and incumbent scrumhalf Andre Warner gave their insights into the beast they will face.
“If you look at their DNA and how they want to play their game, it is all about a massive kicking game and putting you under pressure by forcing mistakes,” said Loubscher.
“In their attack, they have some brilliant runners, so our discipline needs to be good.
"They have a No 10,” Loubscher said, no doubt referring to Joris Segonds, who did not play this past weekend with Leo Barre playing at flyhalf, “who is a good goal kicker. He has a big boot on him.
“Their back three (a combination of Sione Tui, Lester Etien, Nadir Megdoud, Stephane Ahmed and Kylan Hamdaoui) if your kicking game is not on the money, they are going to hurt you with counter-attacks from anywhere.”
In the United Rugby Championship, the Lions hold the fourth best disciplinary record, having conceded the third least penalties in the tournament. But it is the yellow card infringements that have really hurt them in recent weeks, a fact that Loubscher touched on briefly.
“We have talked about our discipline (this week),” he said.
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“At the moment, we are conceding too many penalties and we are making too many unforced errors. If we get our discipline sorted and be more patient, stick to our systems and use our opportunities; and if we can put them under pressure, use the altitude, play a high-tempo game, I think that is one way to put them under pressure.”
The French club will most probably also select a handful of South Africans for the match, possibly including Vincent Kock, JJ van der Mescht and Jeremy Ward. It is another dynamic the Lions must plan for, as Warner pointed out.
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“They also have a few South African players in their squad," Warner said, "so I think they will prepare them in that regard. They know what to expect at altitude. So, ja, they will be prepared for it.”
Loubscher agreed: "You can’t single out any players, but we know Vincent and what he can do.
“The rest of the pack – the Georgians – they have some physical guys. They scrum well and they can put you under pressure with ball-in-hand.
“The big thing for us is to pitch physically – it is a big thing for us going into this game. We saw in the Stormers game against Clermont in the second half. If your physicality is not there on the day, they can hurt you.”
IOL Sport