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Lions eager to end maiden URC campaign on a high note
It would be the icing on the cake if the Lions were to end off with a win away against the Dragons, which would be just their third away victory of the season.
Lions captain Burger Odendaal in action during their URC match against Benetton. Picture: Gallo Images
Despite getting back to winning ways over the weekend, the Lions need to keep improving if they want to give captain Burger Odendaal the perfect send off with a win over the Dragons in Wales in their last United Rugby Championship (URC) match of the season.
The Lions managed to bounce back from successive losses with a bonus point 37-29 win over Benetton, but they still made plenty of mistakes in the match and will need to fix those if they are to pick up their first win in Wales.
“It was a bit frustrating on the field. I told the guys we are basically making the same mistakes that we have made in the past two or three weeks and it’s frustrating that we take time to learn from our mistakes and then keep repeating them,” explained Odendaal.
“I think we are just putting ourselves under pressure. We had a big focus to start off with a bang, have a good first 20 (minutes) and we didn’t get that once again.
“But I think there is massive character in this team. We have to claw our way back every single time. Hats off to the guys, our heads didn’t hang even though we were behind the posts a couple of times.
“The vibe just kept on going even if things didn’t go our way and massive effort to pull it through.”
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Odendaal, who heads off to join English Premiership side Wasps at the end of the Lions URC campaign, was very happy that his final game at Ellis Park ended in a win, despite the up-and-down performance.
However, it would be the icing on the cake if the Lions were to end off with a win away against the Dragons, which would be just their third away victory of the season, and would make it a relatively successful first showing in the URC for the Johannesburg franchise.
“It was great to get a win in my last match here. It’s one that you want to remember and if your last one is a loss you don’t really want to remember that. So I’m really glad we could get the win over Benetton at the end of the day,” said Odendaal.
“One URC game left for us. So we just want to have the mindset that we have nothing to lose and we can just go and express ourselves in that last game against Dragons. “
