‘Lions must make most of altitude, 3pm kick-off against Leinster’

Lions wing Edwill van der Merwe believes his team will need to use everything at their disposal, especially their home ground advantage, if they want to overcome the challenge of Irish juggernauts Leinster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon.

The 11th placed Lions are in the last chance saloon in their efforts to qualify for the URC playoffs and will need to beat table topping Leinster to give them the best opportunity to do that.

The Irish giants won’t be at full strength, with them sending a mixed team of second-stringers and starters to South Africa, however they will still be a huge threat, as the Lions found out last year when they lost 39-36 to their second-string side at Ellis Park.

Altitude factor

With a 3pm kick-off Van Der Merwe admits it is the perfect opportunity for the Lions to utilise the conditions to the best of their advantage and make sure that Leinster are punished by the altitude.

“The week’s prep so far has been very good, and we are looking forward to being back at home. It was tough overseas,” said Van Der Merwe.

“As you can see on the log, everyone is quite closely bunched, so every point is going to be important. There cannot be any slip-ups. We can’t give too much away, but we are looking forward to a really good match at home.

“At 3pm, it is probably going to be hot on Saturday, and we must use the altitude to our advantage. We must play as a team and use the opportunities that we create.”

Return of Ntlabakanye

The Lions have received a boost in the return of hulking prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who missed their last two games after picking up a red card after a dangerous tackle against Connacht in the URC last month, and he will be fired up to make an impact.

Ntlabakanye admitted that the pressure for points was on, but that the Lions were fully focused on the task at hand as they look to take it one game at a time.

“It is a thing that players say a lot, that we don’t try and look at the log, but we do. We don’t really try to focus on how many points we can get out of it, but rather we try and win every single game,” explained Ntlabakanye.

“Leinster are the benchmark in Europe currently. We will have our hands full, but what the guys have been doing over the last week or so has been good prep for us. We know what is at stake, the top eight is the focus right now.”