The Emirates Lions are at a crossroads in their season and a loss to the DHL Stormers this weekend will all but end their hopes of achieving their goal of being a top-four team.
That may be a long shot at the moment in any case, but losing another local derby may even threaten their top-eight hopes, and mean that they won’t, for the third straight season, be able to qualify for the Investec Champions’ Cup.
The Lions disappointed themselves after a fiery start to the season where they won their opening four games, but now sit in 13th position on the points table, even though they have games in hand on the other sides.
One, two, three, four!
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) February 13, 2025
Who remembers this masterclass from Madosh Tambwe and the Lions in 2018 👏
The Lions host the Stormers in the #VURC on Saturday.
🎫 Get your tickets for the #OriginRound clash from: https://t.co/VJAFFZLvp2 pic.twitter.com/3kUmuZL3AH
The break may be a good thing, since the Lions' last game was their loss to the Bulls a fortnight ago, and they are hoping a reset and a return to Lions values will be their ally when they face the Stormers this weekend.
But their record in local derbies is woeful, to say the least, and they need to reverse this trend or the season may well be over before it gets to the business end of the competition.
Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys said the team had used the time to reset and return to their fundamentals in training, but said they need to use their energy wisely, and to good effect, if they are to come up trumps against the Stormers.
73' Lions 22-26 Stormers
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) February 12, 2025
75' Lions 27-26 Stormers
81' Lions 30-26 Stormers
82' Lions 30-33 Stormers
Throwback to the 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗛 & 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗕 to break their Joburg losing streak in 2020 🍿
Who will emerge victorious on Saturday in #OriginRound in the #VURC derby? pic.twitter.com/LaamxkvQom
Part of the problem against the Bulls was that the Lions, when on top, went back into their shells and allowed the Bulls bench to dictate the last stanza in the game. That was fatal in their hopes to win their home derby and if they do that against a team as relentless as the Stormers, it may happen again.
Redelinghuys said this had been a major talking point in the camp of late, and especially the need to return to the Lions' DNA - of playing attacking rugby and using their skills to good effect.
“I won’t give away too much but we know the type of rugby we should be playing and we must not go into our shells. We are trying to build on our identity and must focus on our DNA. That is what the last two weeks have been about.”
That loss of concentration is something that the coaching staff have been trying to counteract in the training sessions.
The Stormers are going for a 𝗦𝗜𝗫𝗧𝗛 straight win in Joburg on Saturday 👀⛈ pic.twitter.com/4LwPrDFkRv
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) February 11, 2025
“The games against our SA rivals are different to the other games in the URC. We feel we almost stop playing our games when we play the SA teams and that is wrong.
“We must stay dynamic and play how we want to. We must control our game plan from start to finish. We can’t be having good starts and bad finishes or vice versa. There can’t be periods of slacking off. We have to strive to create opportunities throughout the game.”
At the end of the day, the Lions know talk is cheap, and only their performance on the field will count for anything.
If they are to stop their season from sliding into oblivion, they will need to be brave, and that needs to start this weekend.