Considering the kind of exciting rugby that the Lions have played this season, it is somewhat surprising to see them languishing in 12th position on the United Rugby Championship log.
They have won and lost five matches each, and are on 23 points – just four off the last playoff spot in eighth, which is currently occupied by the Scarlets.
So, there is still real hope that the Johannesburg side can reach the URC quarter-finals, but they need to start winning more regularly – starting with Saturday’s clash against the Sharks at Ellis Park (2.30pm kick-off).
Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys noted on Tuesday that the Lions have only emerged victorious in one SA derby this season: the 30-23 win over the Stormers in Joburg on February 15.
They lost 35-22 and 31-19 to the Bulls, and went down 29-10 to the Stormers in Cape Town in December.
Now they will face the Sharks home and away over the next two weekends, and Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen will know that his team need to find a way to change their fortunes against an SA team.
“The margins are so small in these derbies. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the results in the two Bulls games, and in the away Stormers game,” Redelinghuys said.
“So, we need to be better in the local derbies. We got the one win at home against the Stormers, and now need to be better in these next two games.
“It’s weird, these double-headers. It’s almost something we haven’t experienced a lot. Last year, we had the Bulls twice in a row, and this year, we’ve got the Sharks twice in a row.
“We just take it week by week. Obviously after the Bulls game, we had a lot of things that we had a look at and see what things we did well.
“Obviously there are always things that you can do better. For us, it’s focusing on this first game, and after the first game, you review that game – and the review is also a preview!”
The Lions had their moments against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld last Saturday, fighting back from 17-0 down in 14 minutes to make it 17-14 at halftime.
But they allowed the Pretoria side to score early in the second half, and wasted a number of opportunities themselves – including having a few tries ruled out for infringements.
So, as much as the likes of captain Francke Horn, flank Ruan Venter, centre Henco van Wyk and wing Edwill van der Merwe can unlock the Sharks defence, the Lions need to finish those line-breaks regularly if they hope to beat the visitors, who had a week off after getting past the Bulls 29-19 at Loftus Versfeld.
“For us, looking from the outside into their way of playing, it doesn’t matter if they have a lot of injuries, or their Springboks are resting: it just looks like a bunch of guys that play really hard for each other,” Redelinghuys said.
“In the game against the Bulls, they were 12 guys at a time, and just never stopped fighting. So, it just looks like their culture has grown over time. It looks like a happy camp, and that they work hard for each other.
“If you talk technically about the game, their attack is a lot more dynamic. I think their kicking game is accurate, and they really do well to play towards space, and defensively, they work really hard.
“So, they are a much different team to last year, and we are not under any illusions there.
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“We are also working towards where we want to go to, so we are looking forward to this weekend and testing ourselves against them.
“We also feel that we are a dynamic attack, getting better. So, it’s going to be interesting (to see) how much ball is going to be in play this weekend.
“We need to finish those moments or opportunities: to win, or get the most points out of the game.”