Lions need to bring A game in Currie Cup against Griquas

The Lions will be aiming to bring their A game when they take on Griquas in their Currie Cup clash at Griqua Park in Kimberley on Friday afternoon (kick-off 3:30pm).

It is a golden opportunity for the Lions to make a move up the Currie Cup table with them currently fifth, while the Griquas in sixth are even on points with them and will also be keen to force their way into the playoff positions.

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With Western Province, the Sharks and Bulls all fielding full Currie Cup sides, with their main squads in URC quarterfinal action, it means they will have a tough time winning this weekend, especially with Western Province up against the Cheetahs, while the Sharks and Bulls face off.

The Lions could thus find themselves up in third spot on the log by the end of the weekend if they can claim a full house of points and other results go their way.

However they face a tricky challenge against Griquas, who beat them 25-18 at Ellis Park in the first round, although this time the Joburg side is strengthened by a number of URC stars.

Important points

They also picked up a very important five points against the previously table topping Pumas in their last outing, which will give them a lot of confidence against Griquas.

“We are very happy to have picked up five points against the Pumas, that was vital. Things didn’t go our way in the first round so to start the second round like that was very good,” admitted Lions loose forward JC Pretorius.

“Our prep has gone well this week. It was a short week for us, so we only had two full days of training and the boys were fully up for it.

“We are ready for the challenge of the Griquas. We are expecting a full 80 minutes of hard fight from them. So we have to bring our A game if we want to win.”

It has been a mixed campaign for last year’s runners-up Griquas, so they will be eager to put in a big performance and make their own move as the competition heads towards its business end.