Lions looking to bounce back against Sharks after rollercoaster season

The Lions are aiming to bounce back from a poor run of recent form when they take on the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm).

The home side heads into the game on the back of a four match losing run in the URC and a nine match losing run against South African franchises, but captain Marius Louw believes there is no better place than home to turn it around.

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It has been an up and down season for the Lions that has seen them slip from a high of fifth on the URC log, down to their current place of 13^th and they desperately need a win over the Sharks to get their campaign back on track.

“Something we are well aware of is we haven’t been good enough in South African derbies. It’s something we definitely want to turn around and there is no better place to do that than at home,” said Louw.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for us so far. We started off well away from home, then coming back home we let one or two games slip where we could have gained a few more points or a win or two which would have put us in a better position.

“We then slipped a little bit more on tour which has put us on the back foot, but we are back at home now. It is a place we pride ourselves on playing at. So we are looking forward to the rest of the season and doing our best.”

Extra responsibility

It will be the first time that Louw is playing against his old franchise at Ellis Park and with him captaining the side in the absence of regular captain Reinhard Nothnagel, who is still out injured, it adds extra responsibility onto his shoulders.

“I think it’s exciting playing against the old franchise. I used to dread playing up here in Johannesburg because of the altitude and it being the Lions home ground which was a bit of a fortress.

But things have been good since I moved up here, I have settled in well and I am very excited for the game.”

Speaking about the move to the Lions Louw added: “It was the right time and right place and I have been fortunate enough to be backed by the management and the team.

“I think I have grabbed my opportunity with both hands. I have tried my best and hopefully I can contribute more to the Franchise.”

It has been a tough six game in a row run away from home for the Lions, which included a four game European tour, and Louw says the team is just happy to be back and are looking forward to playing in front of the home fans.

“The tour didn’t go as planned. It was tough conditions against quality teams. From our side we needed to adapt a little bit better. But that is something we have brought to the table this week and we are excited to see the crowd back at home,” said Louw.