The Lions must return to winning ways on Saturday agianst defending URC champions, the Glasgow Warriors, if they are to make a push for a Top 8 finish.
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With only the Lions falling short of a victory in the United Rugby Championship (URC), all eyes will be on them this weekend as they bid to close out their overseas journey in the tournament with a win.
The Johannesburg side are the only local team outside of the tournament’s Top 8 and will be desperate to claw their way back. For the three other South African teams – the Stormers, Bulls, and Sharks – they’ll hope to continue their winning ways to cement their knockout spots.
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They replaced the Lions in the final qualifying spot after a last-gasp bonus point win over the Scarlets this past Saturday. A victory will suffice when they take on Ulster on Friday (9.35pm kick-off) in Belfast.
The Irishmen are one point behind the Cape side, so they’ll know a loss against them will see Ulster leapfrog them on the log. While there will be some expected changes to the Stormers’ team, they will still field a strong enough side to win. After the victory in Wales, their record away from home is improving and that will give them plenty of confidence going into the duel.
A loss would not be that tough of a blow and will likely see them drop from the knockout spots, but if they can secure one or two points should they lose, they’ll still be in a solid position to reach the play-offs.
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They are still the best-placed South African side after a nail-biting win over a Leinster ‘B’ side. Let’s be honest, that game should not have been that tight looking at the teams the sides fielded and the strength of the Bulls.
Lessons will have been learnt from it, and they should be implemented against Zebre on Saturday (2.45pm kick-off) at Loftus Versfeld. It should not take a penalty after the hooter again to put Zebre away, but a clinical performance that matches their position at the top of the log. They need a full house of five points to keep the Warriors, second on the log, under pressure heading into the final rounds.
The Bulls must get their attacking rhythm going and use the front foot ball possession they get from their scrums. Zebre will be there for the taking after emptying the tank against the Sharks in a hot Durban. The Loftus side must use this opportunity.
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A display like the one against Zebre won’t bring them a victory over Leinster this weekend in Durban. They will have to take heed of captain Siya Kolisi’s words and perform better on Saturday in the Shark Tank (7.15pm kick-off).
The Irish powerhouse copped a first loss for the season in Pretoria and will be out for blood when they head to the coastal city. It’s a night game, so there won’t be any heat factor that the Sharks can bank on. They must climb into their visitors from the onset and avoid the soft moments that cost them this past Saturday every time it looked like they were going to pull away.
The Durbanites have all the firepower up front and in the backline to put opposition teams away, but they can’t seem to realise that. If they are serious about a top-two finish, they must put Leinster to the sword.
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They are three points behind the Stormers and can’t afford any more losses in the tournament. Otherwise, they can kiss their hopes of ending in a Champions Cup spot and reaching the play-offs for the first time, goodbye.
How is it possible that a team who dominates the possession in a clash, and enjoys the upper hand for most of it, can throw that away to lose in the closing stages? But that has been the story of the Lions this season. It’s desperation mode against the defending champions, the Glasgow Warriors, and failing to deliver an 80-plus minutes performance could spell the beginning of the end of their season.
They show so much potential every season, but when it comes to the crunch part of it, the Ellis Park side falls off the wagon. They must do everything in their power to pull off a win at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday evening (9.35pm kick-off).