Lions scrum-half Ross Cronje is keen to continue with his fine form when his side host the Crusaders in Saturday’s Super Rugby Final in Johannesburg.
Cronje’s man-of-the-match performance against the Hurricanes last weekend proved crucial as his team fought back from a 19-point deficit against the 2016 winners to book their place in the final.
The Springbok’s kicking game and ability on defence was matched by his distribution as the side went on a second half rampage to swamp the Hurricanes but he is wary of the Crusaders’ threat.
“Clinically they’re a great team,” Cronje told reporters ahead of the game.
“They can punish you on turnover ball, they have a great counter attack and they’ve got ball players.
“They have out-muscled a lot of teams, so it’s going to be massive for our forwards to front up this weekend.”
Cronje said the Lions’ backroom staff had identified some potential areas of vulnerability for the Crusaders and they would be looking to exploit them.
“The amount of All Blacks they have in their pack says something for itself,” he said.
“Stats don’t lie…it’s going to be a massive challenge for our forwards to come up against something like that this weekend.
“I believe we’ve got the players that will man up to them.”
Cronje is aware of the Crusaders’ ability to dictate the tempo of the game when they were in control but said the Lions would be looking to play at their own pace.
“If I need to speed it up I will speed it up and if I need to slow it down, same thing,” he added.
“I’ve been working on that for the last couple of years.
“During the week we identify attack and defensive strategy and then we execute. It makes my life a lot easier knowing how we want to play and what pace we want to play. It all depends on the team we’re playing against.”
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