Lions still hopeful about Tshituka brothers

The Lions are hopeful they can deploy brothers Vincent and Emmanuel Tshituka in the United Rugby Championship (URC) match against Leinster on Friday night.

The Tshituka brothers, who were born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were named in the Lions' touring squad, but were ruled out “due to unforeseen circumstances relating to their travel document requirements”.

Lions backline, attack and skills coach Ricardo Laubscher on Tuesday said team officials were trying to smooth the brothers' passage to Dublin for the fixture against the competition's most decorated team.

“We are dealing with it. We are waiting for a confirmation. Behind the scenes we are working on it and hopefully we can get a good outcome,” said Laubscher.

“It is something we are dealing with internally, sorting out all the paperwork around their visas. Some things are out of our hands. We must sort out our preparation. It will be tough not to have them. They are two quality players. We would love to have them, especially against a team like Leinster.”

The Lions had earlier announced Lunga Ncube will join the squad in Dublin as cover.

Vital to the cause

Both brothers, especially Vincent, have been instrumental for the Lions the past few seasons. He has returned from injury and is regaining the form that saw him blip on the Bok radar.

His energy and commitment will be sorely missed if he is unable to get the green light to travel to Ireland.

Leinster are redoubtable opponents and Laubscher knows his team will have to show marked improvements if they are going to record a miracle win. The former Bok utility back listed the boxes the Lions have to tick on Friday.

“We have to keep discipline for 80 minutes. They are fit if you look at their work rate around the park, they put you under pressure with their defence and their kicking game. Leinster does not kick a lot, they try to hold on to the ball. It is a huge challenge for us to find a balance whether to kick in behind them or to hold onto the ball at the right times.”

He acknowledged the Lions' defence needs to improve.

“Our tackle quality needs to be better. We have to make sure our one-on-one tackles are spot on. We have to get off the line and slot down their ball.”

Leinster, whose only home defeat this season came at the hands of northern neighbours Ulster, can leapfrog their rivals if they win on Friday.