Lions need one last hurray in SA derbies before heading overseas

It has been a case of ‘local is lekker’ for the Lions’ last five games in the United Rugby Championship (URC), but they must rouse themselves for one last SA derby this week before a challenging overseas tour.

The pride will be in Durban on Saturday for their return match against the Sharks and coach Ivan van Rooyen will be asking his troops for an almighty effort before they turn their attention to Europe.

It will be the Lions’ fourth consecutive weekend of derby matches and their sixth in a row in the URC since they started their local run in December in Cape Town against the Stormers (they lost 29-10).

Challenge Cup matches against Montpellier (lost 28-5) and the Dragons (won 60-10) followed before they hosted the Bulls in late January (lost 35-22). The next weekend they beat the Stormers 30-23 at Ellis Park only to disappoint the next week in Pretoria (lost 31-19).

That brought the Lions to last week’s near-perfect 38-14 demolition of the Sharks and their derby curtain call is on Saturday where not only the vengeful Sharks lie in wait but also stifling conditions — the weather prediction is 31°C and 90% humidity. The “real feel” is expected to be in excess of 35°C.

The sweltering heat could not be in greater contrast to what the Lions can expect in their next game, which is in chilly Cardiff. The Johannesburgers then head north to Glasgow to play the Warriors and finish their tour with a Challenge Cup match against Glasgow’s neighbours, Edinburgh.

The Lions will desperately want to earn points out of their trip to Durban to give their tour a good boost. They are one of eight teams on 28 points on the URC log and that group is just one point behind eighth-placed Connacht (29).

The Top 8 make the play-offs but there is such a log jam in the middle of the table that the teams in positions seven, six and five (Edinburgh, Cardiff and Munster) can be overtaken by winners in the chasing pack should they drop matches.

Van Rooyen says nailing this week’s preparation for the Sharks is vital.

“It will be four games in a row against South African teams and after this week we’ve got a bye, so we can really get stuck into prep this week,” the Lions coach said.

“After that, we’ve got two more away games in the URC and a Challenge Cup game. Hopefully, we can win that last round of 16 game and then it’s either stay there (for a quarterfinal) or it’s back home.

“We can’t control that, but what we can control is our prep, our mindset and understanding what we are currently doing well. Mentally, the Sharks are going to be 10-to-15% better, so it’s a big week in prep for us. We have to ensure we are ready in our minds for what  is definitely coming our way.”