Hitting back, the Lions can still target a top-10 URC finish

It has been a stirring two weeks for the Lions in the United Rugby Championship after they arrested a five-game losing streak with two fantastic wins over overseas opposition, signaling they may have finally turned the corner.

A 37-20 bonus-point victory over Cardiff was followed up with a brilliant 23-21 win over Munster at Ellis Park this past weekend, which has offset the disappointing start to the year that saw them beaten by their three local rivals and Leinster in a bruising run.

The Lions were in danger of ending their maiden URC campaign near the bottom of the log, but their recent performances, culminating with an upset win over Munster who were third on the log at the time, could inspire them to a top-10 finish.

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This would be a huge statement from South Africa’s weakest franchise, who have the least depth out of the four SA teams and will thus struggle over a long season, with injuries and fatigue playing a big part.

The Lions have six games remaining in the competition and if they can build on their performances over the last two weeks they can realistically target four wins, which could be enough to lift them from their current position of 13th into the top 10.

But they will need to beat ninth-placed Ospreys in their next match at Ellis Park on Friday, as they face a tricky two-week period after that game, with matches against fifth-placed Edinburgh at home and the sixth-placed Sharks away, and they will start both those fixtures as underdogs.

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The final three matches of the Lions’ URC season then offers them a chance to end off on a high with home games against Connacht and Benetton, and an away match against the Dragons.

Though the overseas teams will welcome back some players that have been on Six Nations duty, the Lions will have a great chance to pick up wins over Benetton and the Dragons.

The Connacht game will be a tricky one, but with conditions on the Highveld in the Lions’ favour, their current form indicates they will have every chance of winning that match as well.