Assistant coach Barend Pieterse says the Lions’ current position on the United Rugby Championship table belies a team that is in a “very good position” to pounce into the playoffs.
The Lions climbed into 12th place after last week’s 30-23 win against the visiting Stormers. With only four teams below them on the table, the Lions appear to be a team on the bubble. However, all is not as it seems – the Lions have two games in hand on nine of the 11 teams above them (the Bulls and Sharks being the exceptions).
A run of success, including bonus-point wins in the catch-up matches, could potentially catapult the Lions into a top-four finish, a quest that continues at Loftus Versfeld this week when they battle the Bulls in the Jukskei derby.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Jukskei derby edition
The Lions finished the regular season in ninth place last year — narrowly missing out on playoff qualification on points difference.
“Our motivation is still to reach the top eight – at the end of the day, we really want to finish in the top four,” Pieterse told reporters in a Lions conference. “If you look at the points on the log, it doesn’t look great. But we have a game in hand. So although the points table does not look ideal, we are actually in a very good position at the moment.”
The Herd dominated their last encounter, winning 35-22 at Ellis Park on 25 January, largely due to a superior forward performance, and Pieterse’s pack will have to reverse that trend on Saturday to shift the Lions up in the playoff race.
“We definitely don’t want to be where we are at the moment,” he said. “The motivation is still there for us to move into the top eight, or even top four.”
Photo: Lee Warren/GalloImages
