Burger Odendaal eager to end his Lions career on a positive note

Outgoing Lions captain Burger Odendaal is targeting a positive end to his successful tenure with the side, with three more United Rugby Championship matches to play before he sets off for new club Wasps in England.

It has been a short but sweet spell for Odendaal at the Lions, after he left the Bulls in 2020 to cross the Jukskei river, as he became the team’s captain and led them impeccably over the past few seasons.

Odendaal is now hoping to end off on a high as the Lions prepare to play Connacht and Benetton at home over the next two weeks before finishing off with an away match against Dragons in late May.

Not emotional – yet

“I won’t say it’s emotional at the moment, as I try and take the emotions out of it. I am just trying to do my part and be the best for the team that I can be every weekend,” said Odendaal.

“I think maybe that last home game against Benetton might be a bit more emotional for me when it starts kicking in, but at the moment I am just focussing on the next game and getting back on the field to play with the boys.

“It is a great platform for us to play two more games at home and then the last match against Dragons away, so I don’t see why we can’t get positive results in all of our last three games.”

Odendaal only just returned to training with the team earlier this week, after he missed the previous two games due to being a close Covid contact, which saw him following the URC’s return to play protocols.

He will hope to make an immediate impact for the Lions after their four-match winning run was brought to an abrupt end against the Sharks in Durban last week.

“There was a big cloud of disappointment over the squad after the Sharks loss. I don’t think we were good and we didn’t deserve to get a win out of that game, so there was a bit of reflection we had to do,” admitted Odendaal.

“We were focussed on trying to get into the playoffs, but after the Sharks loss that is now out of reach for us, so we just want to finish the season on a high.”

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The Lions’ four victories all came in home matches against overseas opposition, beating Cardiff and Ospreys as well as top-four ranked sides at the time Munster and Edinburgh.

With 10th-ranked Connacht and 13th-ranked Benetton awaiting in their next two matches at Ellis Park, the Lions should be confident of returning to winning ways.

If they can build positive momentum from those games, the team should then have a good chance of beating 15th-ranked Dragons in Wales, to end off their season on the best possible note.

“Playing against overseas opposition at Ellis Park is massive for us, so we are really excited for the game against Connacht,” explained Odendaal.

“The Irish teams are quite exciting to play against as they look to play an attractive style of rugby but playing at home at altitude always plays a massive role, so we will be aiming to get their lungs burning a bit.

“What we need to focus on is getting back our attacking shape. I think our attack hasn’t been up to the standard that we want it over the last few games, so that is a focus point for us and we need to make a big step up on attack in these next few games.”