Lions preparing for flashy Benetton in URC shootout: ‘There’s confidence in the group’

The Lions are preparing for a thrilling game between two attacking sides when they take on Italian outfit Benetton in their United Rugby Championship (URC) encounter at Ellis Park this weekend.

It is set to be an electrifying affair between two teams that enjoy throwing the ball around, but with the added tension of a lot being on the line as the competition hits the business end.

For the hosts they are in must win territory, as a defeat will likely knock them out of the playoff hunt with three pool games remaining, as they are currently 14^th on the log.

Although a loss for the visitors wouldn’t be catastrophic, it would probably see them drop out of the top eight, with them currently seventh, level on points with ninth placed Cardiff, and just six ahead of the Lions, so it would certainly make things more difficult.

“Benetton are a good team. They have so many internationals and if you look at how well Italy played in the Six Nations, we know it is going to be tough because most of those players are in their team,” said Lions captain Francke Horn.

“So we definitely aren’t underestimating them. They will bring a lot of flair like you see in the Italian team, so it is going to be a really good battle. They have a good pack of forwards and exciting backs. But these are the games we need to win for us to get into the top eight.”

Losing streak

The Lions are currently on a four game losing run. Their last victory came against the Sharks (38-14) when they stunned them at Ellis Park at the start of March.

Since then they have gone down in the return fixture in Durban, before a poor tour to the UK saw them edged by Cardiff, thumped by Glasgow Warriors, and beaten by Edinburgh in their Challenge Cup last 16 match.

Despite that poor form Horn admits that the team are quietly confident of their chances of turning it around and making a play for the playoffs, especially with all of their final pool games at their fortress Ellis Park.

“For me as a captain, and us as a team, I feel there is still a lot of confidence in the group. We haven’t really touched on the losing streak. But we know there are four games left at home and we have been doing pretty well at home this season,” explained Horn.

“We are also really looking forward to being back in front of our home fans. What will help us is that there is now only one competition to focus on, we have four games in which we have to maximise the amount of points that we can get out of them to give ourselves the best opportunity to make the playoffs.

“We are targeting a big performance and a good win against Benetton, so that we can build that momentum and take it into the last three games (of the pool stage).”