The Lions must not stray from their gameplan against Cardiif this weekend in the URC.
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The Lions’ current mini-tour of Europe could determine the shape and direction of the rest of their season, as they strive to cling desperately to a play-off spot in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and push for honours in the EPCR Challenge Cup.
The Lions have two matches up north in the aforementioned championship — the first on Friday against Cardiff (kick-off 9.35 pm) at Cardiff Arms Park, followed by a short hop to Scotland to face defending champions Glasgow Warriors a week later. Depending on whether the Lions are able to return positive results in those matches, the Joburgers following match’s priority – a Challenge Cup round of 16 tie against Edinburgh – will fluctuate.
After all, the latter may be their best route to silverware and teh Champions Cup this season.
However, the Lions have previously fielded a second-string side in away matches in the Challenge Cup this season. Now, at the business end of both tournaments, they will have to set clear priorities.
The Lions have taken their strongest possible 28-man squad to the UK, bolstered by the return of Springboks Ruan Venter, Quan Horn, and Henco van Wyk. The key decision for the coaching staff will be whether to go all out over the next fortnight to secure a Top 8 spot in the URC or to conserve their resources for Edinburgh.
“It has been a talking point for us,” Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse admitted on Wednesday, when asked about balancing the two competitions in the coming weeks.
“As we stand now, we really want to keep this group of players together for as long as possible. It’ll depend on what happens in these two URC games. We want to give ourselves a fair chance in both these games and in the EPCR game as well.
“We haven’t really spoken about flying guys in or out. If it goes well, we really want to see how far we can go in both competitions.”
With that in mind, Pieterse emphasised that the Lions would not stray from their current gameplan. The team has been guilty, perhaps, of playing too conservatively when abroad, allowing opponents to dictate play rather than imposing their own strategy.
That was arguably their biggest downfall against Leinster, Munster, and the Ospreys the last time they played overseas.
“You always have to modify it a little bit,” Pieterse said of their approach for this weekend’s game against sixth-placed Cardiff.
“Even back home, when we played that last game against the Sharks, conditions were a little more difficult. We will have to adjust slightly, but we also don’t want to move away from our strengths — that’s what has been working for us.
“They are predicting a little bit of rain on Friday, so we will adapt to the conditions. Our strength is keeping the ball, and I don’t see ourselves changing too much.”
The Lions, currently on 29 points, are just two points behind Cardiff, who occupy eighth place in the standings. If results elsewhere go their way and they secure a full five-point victory on Friday night, they could climb as high as fifth.