The Fidelity Securedrive Lions’ tour to Ireland was a harsh reality check but their first ever qualification for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs remains a massive positive for the side.
Their 24-17 loss to Munster may have left them seventh on the log, but it was their best finish ever in the URC and means that they qualified for the Investec Champions’ Cup as well.
That means the season goals have already been achieved for the Lions, but now their attention turns to the playoffs, where they face a daunting trip to Dublin to face Leinster - the same side that beat them 31-7 in the last fortnight.
And to make matters worse, they have been rocked by key injuries ahead of the quarterfinal clash that may make their task even more tough.
The loss of Asenathi Ntlabakanye to a doping ban was a massive blow to the side, as was losing Ruan Venter to a knee injury that forced him off the field four minutes into the game against Leinster.
Venter flew back to South Africa and it seems unlikely he will be part of the rest of the campaign, although no formal diagnosis has been released as yet by the side.
Then there was the HIA to Richard Kriel, which forced him off the field against Munster. Luckily because the quarterfinal is not this weekend, there is a chance he can complete the return to play protocols before kickoff in Dublin.
But there are more worries as impressive midfielder Henco van Wyk and captain Francke Horn both needed to leave the field against Munster.
“Henco’s ankle is quite sore. Hopefully for him and for us it’s not too serious,” said Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen.
“Francke came off with a sore hamstring, but I probably took him off early enough so it’s not too bad.”
Van Rooyen added that the loss of Venter and Ntlabakanye were bigger for the side than most would have fathomed.
“Both of them are part of our momentum givers and momentum stoppers,” Van Rooyen explained. “They’re really special in that regard. So if you lose that kind of player, obviously he does leave a void.”
Still, the Lions won’t dwell on the negative, and will celebrate the fact they finished in the top eight as a massive win for the side. Now whatever comes next is a bonus, and they have literally nothing to lose.
“Obviously, it was a goal from the beginning. I think we’ve gradually been getting better,” Van Rooyen said on making the top eight.
“In such a long season with so many challenges and ups and downs. So, to come at the end of the normal season and to be in the top eight is obviously a proud moment for us. Hopefully, we can keep on building momentum and just keep on getting better.”
“Against Munster we had some opportunities again to score one or two tries more. We just didn’t, and in the attacking zone we lost a couple of line-outs, and then you can’t apply that attacking pressure.”
Van Rooyen said there were some good lessons learnt in the last two weeks in Ireland, even though the side lost both fixtures.
“We are talking about quality opposition, tough conditions and quality teams. Like I said, we were consistently just not good enough for us to capitalise on that, but there are also enough positives to really get excited about that opportunity. I think in both fixtures, there were some good glimpses of good physicality, momentum, and quick ball at stages because they can put you under so much pressure in these conditions."
The one good thing for the Lions is they know what they will encounter and have some recent muscle memory of facing Leinster on their home turf. Leinster have a massive game against Bordeaux this weekend in the Investec Champions’ Cup final in Bilbao, and the Lions will hope their rest, a rework of their plans and a Leinster hangover from Spain may all work in their favour.