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The Lions face Cardiff and Glasgow Warriors in the URC over the next two weekends, before taking on Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup, on their UK tour.
The Lions and Sharks in action during their recent URC derby at Kings Park in Durban earlier this month. Picture: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The Lions face what could be a defining three weeks of their season in Europe, starting with their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Cardiff in Wales on Friday night.
By the time the Lions return to South Africa in a month’s time, they could still be in the running for the top eight in the URC and in the quarterfinals of the Challenge Cup, or possibly out of the EPCR and in deep trouble in the URC.
It is thus a vital season-defining tour for the Highveld side and how it goes could hinge on how they start off against Cardiff, who have enjoyed a solid season so far.
In the past three seasons in the URC Cardiff have not finished higher than 10th on the log, but they currently find themselves in sixth place, having won five, drawn one and lost six of their games, and they will be desperate to stay in the top eight heading into their end of season run.
The Lions are just two points behind Cardiff, in eighth place, and with them both in an extremely tight battle for the URC top eight, a loss for either could see them slip into the bottom half of the table.
With the Lions following up their game in Wales with a tough encounter against high flying defending champions, Glasgow Warriors, who are currently second on the log, in Scotland, this Friday’s match is almost a make-or-break.
The Lions might get lucky if Glasgow decide to give their Scottish stars a couple of weeks’ break after a tough Six Nations tournament, but they might choose this weekend’s home game against Munster to give some of their players a rest, and be back at full-strength against the Lions, especially as they will want to build momentum into the Champions Cup last 16.
The Lions will also be eager to build up momentum ahead of their Challenge Cup last 16 clash against Edinburgh following the Glasgow game, and they will be boosted by not having to travel too much ahead of that match.
If the Lions beat Edinburgh they could be heading back to SA for a huge Challenge Cup quarterfinal meeting against the Bulls at Loftus, or moving onto France if their fellow Highveld side slips up.
In all, it is set to be an interesting three weeks in the UK for the Lions and they will ideally want to return home with at least two wins out of three to keep their season on course, ahead of a four game home run to end the URC pool phase.
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