Toulon’s nail-biting win over Glasgow Warriors was not only a massive blow for Franco Smith’s side, but probably didn’t do the hopes of the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions and the DHL Stormers much good either.
The Lions wait to host Glasgow after their bruising match on Saturday and had Smith’s team won, the Joburg side may have faced a different touring squad than they might have, should the Warriors have to fight the rest of their season on two fronts.
But the loss in the Champions’ Cup means now Smith will head to Joburg with his team high on disappointment, and knowing their only path to redemption this season lies in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
And that means, while they currently lead the competition, they need as many points on the road to ensure they can finish the league phase in the same position.
Their top of the table clash with the Stormers next weekend is already set to be a classic, but the Lions clash is a tricky one for them with the Joburg side in superb form at the moment, rested and at home and waiting for Glasgow to arrive.
LIONS ON FORM
But it isn’t as if the Lions don’t have challenges of their own. They are currently sitting pretty in fifth spot - their highest ever position in the history of the URC and are looking for a historic first top eight finish.
They have had two weeks off as a squad and are well-rested and the confidence is high in the team after the momentum they have picked up this season.
Glasgow presents a tough challenge for them though. The Lions’ aspirations won’t be challenged more than by a side that loves a fast game, likes to take on the South African mindset and isn’t scared of the highveld altitude either.
And after their loss to Toulon, Glasgow will definitely be looking for something to stop the disappointment of the Toulon defeat.
Their captain Kyle Steyn said this in as many words after the Toulon defeat, and underscored how important the tour now is for them.
TOUGH AWAY GAMES
“There’s no point dwelling now on what the occasion did to us. It’s about making sure that we’re ready for next week first and foremost. Lions away is probably one of the toughest away games in the league, so we’ll take those learnings and turn them into energy for that game,” Steyn said.
“It’s a really difficult tour. They’re difficult places to go and play, and that’s exactly what we need in the build-up for the (URC) knockout stages. It’s something we’ve learned under Franco that you take everything head-on. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Glasgow have their own challenges for the tour - most notably losing lock Max Williamson this weekend.
Williamson injured his medial ligaments and is facing a four to six week stint on the sidelines, putting more strain on Glasgow’s lineout with Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown and Alex Craig all unavailable. At the moment they only have Alex Samuel and Jare Oguntibeju as their specialist locs that are fit.
According to reports flanker Rory Darge won’t travel to SA because of the birth of his first child, while there are injury concerns about flyhalf Adam Hastings and captain Sione Tuipulotu, both of whom went off the field with knocks against Toulon.
NO CHANGE OF PLANS
Smith said after the defeat that he wasn’t going to change his plans now that they are out of Europe though.
“I try to learn a little bit from what happened with other teams in the competition who competed on two fronts. I’ve had a specific strategy now for the next two weeks. We’re not going to veer much off that,” Smith added.
“The benefit is that we’ll have a weekend off when we come back. That’s not what we wanted, but now we have that. We will manage the boys properly in the next two weeks to achieve another objective.”
Either way the Lions clash will be eagerly watched, not only from the Joburg side’s perspective and how it affects their top eight hopes, but from the viewpoint of the other SA franchises as well.