He said a win will put their URC challenge back on track. “I’m not worried about the table. There are seven matches left (if you count the quarterfinals). When we get back home we can reassess. We can reset then,” said Fourie.
Perhaps he has reason to be sanguine about the Lions’ prospects once they return home. Four of their five remaining pool matches are in Gauteng but they have ground to make up.
The Lions are 12th on the points table, six points behind eighth placed Edinburgh who have played a game more.
A win over Connacht would, however, bring them back into the top eight conversation but it will take some doing. A South African team is yet to win at the Sportsground in Galway.
Fourie recalled how even the Springboks came up short when he was still playing Test rugby. “I think we played here in 2006 and the Springboks had to settle for a draw against Connacht.”
At least the Lions will be buoyed by last Sunday’s triumph over the Dragons in the Challenge Cup. It snapped a four-match losing streak restoring belief in the camp.
“We needed that win,” said wing Edwill van der Merwe matter of factly. “We needed to turn our tour around and try to make memories here. It has lifted the spirit and the mood is good in the camp,” said Van der Merwe.
Van der Merwe certainly had reason to be upbeat after last Sunday’s win in Wales. He scored a long range try aided and abetted by an unlikely source, prop JP Smith. The prop quickly emerged with the ball blindside after the Lions received a kick-off. He drew a defender and adroitly offloaded to the speeding winger who had to run more than half the length of the field to score.
“JP is a very skilful player,” said Van der Merwe. “He actually noticed the opposing wing committing to the contest (which left space blindside) two kicks before.
Coach Albert (van den Berg) actually joked that JP had to slow down for me to catch up,” Van der Merwe quipped.
Fourie confirmed the Lions should have a full complement to choose from.
Lions looking beyond the URC table
They are more focused on their clash in breezy Galway against Connacht
Image: Eoin Noonan/Sportsfile/Gallo Images
The Lions are not too troubled about the digits that currently populate the United Rugby Championship (URC) points table.
They are more concerned about doing a number on their next opponents as they go in search of a place in the much sought after top eight of the competition.
This week their travels take them to Galway where they meet Connacht in the URC on Saturday night and it is a match in which the tourists need to reaffirm their desire for a finish among the competition’s elite.
If anything, they’ve been losing ground on the front runners with three consecutive defeats in the URC in their most recent outings in the competition.
“This is a very important game for us,” defence coach Jaque Fourie stressed on Wednesday.
He said a win will put their URC challenge back on track. “I’m not worried about the table. There are seven matches left (if you count the quarterfinals). When we get back home we can reassess. We can reset then,” said Fourie.
Perhaps he has reason to be sanguine about the Lions’ prospects once they return home. Four of their five remaining pool matches are in Gauteng but they have ground to make up.
The Lions are 12th on the points table, six points behind eighth placed Edinburgh who have played a game more.
A win over Connacht would, however, bring them back into the top eight conversation but it will take some doing. A South African team is yet to win at the Sportsground in Galway.
Fourie recalled how even the Springboks came up short when he was still playing Test rugby. “I think we played here in 2006 and the Springboks had to settle for a draw against Connacht.”
At least the Lions will be buoyed by last Sunday’s triumph over the Dragons in the Challenge Cup. It snapped a four-match losing streak restoring belief in the camp.
“We needed that win,” said wing Edwill van der Merwe matter of factly. “We needed to turn our tour around and try to make memories here. It has lifted the spirit and the mood is good in the camp,” said Van der Merwe.
Van der Merwe certainly had reason to be upbeat after last Sunday’s win in Wales. He scored a long range try aided and abetted by an unlikely source, prop JP Smith. The prop quickly emerged with the ball blindside after the Lions received a kick-off. He drew a defender and adroitly offloaded to the speeding winger who had to run more than half the length of the field to score.
“JP is a very skilful player,” said Van der Merwe. “He actually noticed the opposing wing committing to the contest (which left space blindside) two kicks before.
Coach Albert (van den Berg) actually joked that JP had to slow down for me to catch up,” Van der Merwe quipped.
Fourie confirmed the Lions should have a full complement to choose from.
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