The Blue Bulls showed signs of improvement in their defence despite last weekend’s 19-26 Currie Cup defeat to the Sharks. Now the Pretoria side will be hoping for more of the same when they take on the Golden Lions at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night.Although they scored the tries in their opening three matches of their Currie Cup campaign‚ conceding 15 tries was cause for concern for the Pretoria side.Against the Sharks on Saturday‚ the Bulls’ defence held their ground‚ bar the two tries they eventually conceded.If the Bulls want to entertain hopes of a semifinal berth in the domestic competition‚ their defensive work will have to improve considerably when they face a hard-running and elusive Lions side.Blue Bulls coach Nollis Marais comes out fighting in support of besieged Boks captain Adriaan StraussHands off Adriaan Strauss! The Lions have shown their intent of putting massive scores past the opposition.Johan Ackermann’s charges have played three matches‚ winning two with both victories – against the Pumas and Boland Cavaliers – seeing the Lions put 60 points past their opponents.“It’s been a good week for us‚ the guys are looking forward to it. Our guys know that we have to be at our best. "The Lions are a quality side and they will punish you with 30 to 40 points if you don’t play well‚” said Bulls coach Nollis Marais.“I thought we defended well in the past weekend – we conceded two tries when it could have gone either way.“We made a lot of ball carries in the game and they made double the amount of tackles we did. Sometimes you will concede turnovers. We need to be just a bit better in our conversion rate. We know that we had to plan properly for this weekend.”Olympic bronze medallist returns to boost Lions ahead of Bulls showdownThe Golden Lions have been bolstered by the inclusion of Sevens star Kwagga Smith ahead of their Currie Cup clash against the Blue Bulls in Pretoria on Friday. The Lions have proven that they are not invincible though.Unlike last year where they went on to win the tournament unbeaten‚ the Johannesburg side was handed a beating by the Griquas in their second round match of the campaign.Regardless‚ the side remains dangerous and one of the favourites to clinch the trophy‚ and the Bulls are well aware of their opponents’ cababilities.“The Lions are a good side. They bounced back after losing to Griquas to beat Boland with 60 points‚” said Marais.“You give the Lions a chance‚ they will score. For us‚ it was a tough match on Saturday (against the Sharks) – one that we should have won. The result this coming Friday is one that we need to get.” - TMG Digital..