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Lions target URC derbies at Ellis Park as must-win games
It is a very congested log with just four points separating Munster in 11th place and Ulster in fifth, while the Lions lie 10th.
Lions rugby players Morne van den Berg. Marius Louw, Richard Kriel and Emmanuel Tshituka celebrate Louw’s try against the Bulls. Picture: Gordon Arons/Gallo Images
The Lions are looking ahead to two must-win local United Rugby Championship (URC) derbies at Ellis Park in February when they host their cross-Jukskei rivals the Bulls followed by the Sharks.
The Lions reached the halfway point of the URC season over the past weekend when they went down 30-28 to the Bulls at Loftus, which has left them 10th on the log on 24 points.
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However it is a very congested log with just four points separating Munster in 11th place and Ulster in fifth, which should make for a thrilling back end to the competition as teams battle for a top eight place to make the playoffs.
Vitally important
It is thus vitally important that the Lions pick up at least one win from their next two home games, as they leave for a tough two-match overseas tour after that, and if they head to Europe off the back of two home losses it could leave them with too much to do.
“Our next two games are Bulls and Sharks at home. They are must-win games for us. If we can get eight to 10 points out of those games it will leave us in a position that when we go on tour we can stay in the fight and get as many points as possible,” explained Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen.
“If I am honest, we can be better at home as well. But it’s going to be a nice challenge for us to have the Bulls, who are flying high, and the Sharks who have drastically improved over the past four weeks at Ellis Park.”
Although the Lions have won four and lost five games so far this season, all five of those defeats were by seven points or less, showing how they have been competitive in every match and could have walked away with a few wins if things had gone their way.
Frustrated Lions
However, they will also be frustrated to have gotten so close in many of those games without managing to get over the line.
“I think it’s a bit of both (proud to be within seven but frustrated not to win). We have shown great fight and great character to stay in these games. So we are creating opportunities, but are we capitalising? That’s an area we can improve a little bit,” said Van Rooyen.
“We know that we are giving ourselves opportunities, but it’s now about taking those and finishing them off.”
Lions captain Marius Louw highlighted the importance of the Lions picking up losing bonus points, after they just missed out on making the top eight last year, but admitted that the team was not satisfied with their results.
“It is not great losing by less than seven points every time. But last year we saw what bonus points mean. So we will take it any time of the day,” said Louw.
“We are happy to come away with at least one point (from the Bulls match), but we are not satisfied yet. I think there is a lot of potential in this team and we know that. So we know what we can do and how far we can go.”
