Six home matches left to decide the Lions’ season

The Lions have a run of six straight home matches in the United Rugby Championship (URC) that will likely define their season as they attempt to finish in the top eight and qualify for the competition playoffs for the first time.

A chastening 52-17 defeat by the Bulls at Ellis Park over the past weekend saw them tumble from seventh on the log to 10^th, putting them right back into the fight for the knockout places.

But the Lions have a golden opportunity to rise back up the table and secure their place in the top eight over the coming months, with six of their last eight pool matches at home.

The Lions have, however, contrived to not make use of their home ground advantage in the past, as seen on Saturday when they didn’t even offer the Bulls a challenge during a one-sided demolition.

But they may have no choice if they want to qualify for the URC playoffs for the first time, as their final two pool games of the season are away matches in Ireland against powerhouses Leinster and Munster, and they will be heavy underdogs heading into those fixtures.

They thus need a strong start to their final block of fixtures, with them hosting home derbies against the Sharks and Stormers at the end of this month, before welcoming overseas opposition as they host Edinburgh, Dragons, Glasgow Warriors and Connacht.

Two week break

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted that the two week break between their next two derbies thus comes at the perfect time, to allow the players to refresh ahead of a vitally important run.

“I think we’ve got six more at home. The first two against South African opposition, Sharks and Stormers. So it’s not just the energy, but it is also the execution that needs to be more consistent (from us),” explained Van Rooyen.

“March, April and May are going to be a massive three months for us to try to reach our goals. December and January is always a tough two months in terms of travel and the weather, going from hot summer conditions at home to very cold winter conditions in Europe.

“We have done a fair bit of travel and micromanaging over the last two months. So the players now have an off week which I think is much needed to get them mentally and physically fresh.

Van Rooyen continued: “Then we have to prep for our two derby games, followed by a week where we can fine tune, and then we welcome the European teams.

“We know that the last two games against Leinster and Munster away is going to be tough. So we probably need to do the majority of our work before we get to those final two games.”