- While he has full trust in his young loose trio, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has a trump card for the breakdown battle with the Bulls' rampant flankers: Jaco Visagie.
- The former Bulls hooker has found his feet at his new team and is starting to take a lead as a poacher on the ground.
- Van Rooyen is pleased with this development as competing at the breakdowns is a collective responsibility.
As much the battle of the breakdown has become one where every member of the XV should be able to go and compete for or slow down possession, the poster boys remain the loose trio.
The rampant Bulls aren't exactly helping in shedding that perception as their in-form group of Duane Vermeulen, Marco van Staden and Elrigh Louw have been outstanding on the ground despite the collective responsibility.
It's little wonder then that there are reservations over the promising but inexperienced Lions trio of Len Massyn, Vince Tshituka and MJ Pelser - their average age is 22 - to stem their counterparts', well, Bull-run.
But the men from Ellis Park, who host their neighbours from across the Jukskei river in Super Rugby Unlocked on Saturday, might have a trump card ... and he's a former Bull to boot.
Lions
15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies (captain), 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 MJ Pelser, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole
Substitutes: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Ross Cronjé, 22 Dan Kriel, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel
Bulls
15 David Kriel, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Stedman Gans, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Substitutes: 16 Joe van Zyl, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Chris Smith, 23 Marco Jansen van Vuren
Jaco Visagie is your typical no-frills hooker, a 28-year-old senior player lacking in the fireworks produced by his predecessors such as Malcolm Marx and Akker van der Merwe.
His forte is being solid, understated and - as it turns out - a good poacher at the breakdowns.
"We're really excited about Jaco this weekend," said Ivan van Rooyen, the Lions' head coach, referring to Visagie's showing against Griquas last week, where he tackled and cleaned with intent while also winning two turnovers.
"He's started to find his feet here and it's very pleasing that he's starting to steal ball on the ground. We even saw (lock) Ruben Schoeman steal one. That's the direction rugby is moving anyway, it's becoming a game where more than just one or two players need the ability to compete at the breakdown.
"The Bulls thrive on momentum but they also focus on stopping yours as well. We're all well aware of Marco and Duane's skill on the ground and we're prepping for that. If we're going to allow the Bulls to win collisions and the breakdowns, our day will become challenging."
The presence of men like Visagie and Marnus Schoeman are undeniably a handy safety net for the Lions' green group of flankers but by no means should it be interpreted as a vote of no-confidence.
While Massyn, Tshituka and Pelser's attacking exploits took centre stage against the Peacock Blues, they still put in the hard yards on defence, combining for a total of 37 completed tackles as well as two turnovers.
"When you consider their combined age, their progress is very exciting," said Van Rooyen.
"They work hard on the field and they enjoy it too. All three of them bring a different dimension to the combination in terms of skillsets but they definitely work for a common goal. It's a partnership that I only see blossoming further in future.
"They'll definitely work hard again this weekend against an opposing loose trio that really plays well together. It should be a good battle."
Kick-off at Ellis Park is at 19:00.