Fullback Quan Horn scored the only points for the Lions with a try against Montpellier. Photo: BackpagePix
The Lions still hold their fate in the EPCR Challenge Cup in their own hands, and know only an improved performance and victory on Saturday against the Dragons in Johannesburg (5.15pm kick-off) will see them go through to the playoffs.
Time to do what we love #ForOurCity... See you on Saturday.
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) January 14, 2025
🆚Dragons
🗓: Sat, 18 Jan
⏰: 17:15
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Another loss, though, like last weekend against Montpellier, will derail their plans to progress and close the chapter on another unsuccessful spell in the European tournament.
They lost 28-5 in France, with Springbok fullback Quan Horn scoring a lone try for the visitors.
But according to forwards coach Barend Pieterse, they are eager to shake off the disappointment.
They are currently in fifth place, just outside of qualification, but equal on log points with the Dragons, who pip them thanks to a better points difference.
The other three sides in Pool 2 have already qualified, so whoever wins at Ellis Park on Saturday will knock the other one out of contention.
“We owe it to ourselves and our supporters to have a better performance,” he said, alluding to the fact that they are dead-set on fixing the mistakes of last weekend.
“It (the result) is not what we hoped for. We disappointed ourselves from the onset of the game.
“But it is good to be at home, and we had our first session at Ellis Park (yesterday afternoon). To have some sun during training feels good.
“We know, though, that we’ve made things difficult for ourselves in the Challenge Cup. We must play better and prettier rugby, something we didn’t do this past weekend.”
According to Pieterse, it will all be about fixing those uncharacteristic errors they made in France.
He would also like to see improvement when it comes to their lineouts, especially after missing a throw five metre from the tryline.
He added that they had a tough review yesterday, but despite that, the mood in the camp is good and the players are upbeat about their chances.
“You can ask any player: it was a tough and straight-forward session. We didn’t do ourselves any favours in our previous EPCR matches by not picking up more points.
“We will have to get our five points first (against the Dragons)... We can’t worry about anything else at the moment.”
The Lions didn’t pick up any serious knocks at Montpellier, with just a few niggles, and confirmed that they are expecting some injured players back, which should bolster the side ahead of the make-or-break tie. | Independent Media Sport
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