Thunder and lightning greeted the Hurricanes squad in Johannesburg and assistant coach John Plumtree wants his side to bring a similar intensity to their defence during Sunday's Investec Super Rugby match against the Lions.

The Hurricanes were forced indoors for training after a late afternoon storm saw lightning strike the playing surface where they were scheduled to go through an early clarity session at a local school.

Plumtree said the weather conditions wouldn't change the focus for the side as they look to bounce back from their 28-27 loss to the Chiefs at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

"We allowed two or three soft tries which is unlike us considering the heights we reached against the Rebels so that was probably the big disappointment," he said.

"There was some good attacking play and it was a pretty good game of rugby for the pundits but we were really disappointed with some aspects of our game.

"Our lineout didn't function as well as we would have liked, we gave the backs some pretty average ball so that was the big work-on for us this week. There was a real mixed bag of stuff that annoyed us."

Plumtree's assessment may seem a little harsh to some after the Hurricanes dominated the Chiefs statistically in most areas, but the former Natal representative and Sharks coach knows the Lions present a huge challenge on their home turf.

"The Lions play from all over the field so defensively we're going to get tested, and up front they're pretty rugged. We've got a lot of respect for this Lions side and it's well organised by Johan Ackermann and Swys de Bruin so we've got to make sure we're on the money with what we want to do."

The Lions are on top of the Africa 2 Conference after winning six of their eight matches this season with the Stormers being the only South African team to have gained more competition points in 2016.

"They play a pretty good brand of footy and they've been very successful this year in what they've been doing," Plumtree said. "

I think we can expect them to come at our set piece, they've shown over the course of the year their scrum is a force to be reckoned with and their lineout's not too bad either. I think that will be a focus point for them and something we need to be aware of.

"We're trying to nail down our preparation so it's perfect for the boys and they feel as good as they can. We know we're going to need the whole squad at the weekend in terms of the 23 and it's going to be another high intensity game."

The Hurricanes coaches have taken a squad of 27 players to South Africa for their two matches against the Lions and the Sharks in Durban a week later.

The only fit player unavailable to tour was hooker Leni Apisai, who was recently named as New Zealand Under 20s captain, while fullback/wing Nehe Milner-Skudder, lock James Blackwell (ankle) and first five TJ Va'a (knee) were not considered due to injury.

Hurricanes touring squad to South Africa: Reg Goodes, Loni Uhila, Dane Coles, Motu Matu'u, Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Chris Eves, Ben May, Mark Abbott, Mike Fatialofa, Vaea Fifita, Blade Thomson, Brad Shields, Victor Vito, Ardie Savea, Callum Gibbins, TJ Perenara, Jamison Gibson-Park, Beauden Barrett, Otere Black, Vince Aso, Ngani Laumape, Matt Proctor, Willis Halaholo, Cory Jane, Jason Woodward, Julian Savea, James Marshall.

Non travelling reserves: Ricky Riccitelli, Geoff Cridge, Hisa Sasagi, Hugh Renton, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Iopu Iopu-Aso, Tony Lambourn.

Not available: Leni Apisai (NZ Under 20s)

Injured: Nehe Milner-Skudder( shoulder), James Blackwell (ankle), TJ Va'a (knee)