Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen says they will be counting on bright young talents such as Henco van Wyk and Emmanuel Tshituka to replace Wandisile Simelane and Vincent Tshituka, who have moved to South African rivals.

The Lions saw a host of star players exiting at the end of last season, including tighthead prop Carlu Sadie and loose forward Vincent Tshituka (both Sharks) and centres Wandisile Simelane (Vodacom Bulls) and Burger Odendaal (Wasps).

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Speaking at the launch of the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship season on Tuesday, Van Rooyen told IOL Sport how the Lions plan to replace their lost stars.

“We have a lot of pride in our scrum, so losing Carlu as probably your No 1 tighthead is a big loss. Losing Vincent as probably your No 1 ball- carrier is a big loss and losing ‘Wandi’ as your main X factor is a big loss,” Van Rooyen said.

“We brought in Ruan Smith at tighthead and it is also time for Asenathi [Ntlanakanye] to come through.  It was unfortunate losing Vince, but now it is time for someone like Emmanuel, his brother, and Ruhan Straueli and Ruan Venter, who is a massive ball-carrier for us, to do well.

“Henco van Wyk is a potential future Springbok, so, it is good for him to be in there. Someone like Quan [Horn] can bring a different approach to No 13 for us.

“So, we have a good mixture of young, exciting centres. It is their opportunity now and we are confident that they can fulfil that role for us and bring something different.”

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