Bulls, Sharks derby clashes are must-win for Lions, says winger Edwill van der Merwe

Lions wing Edwill van der Merwe says that the team are fully focused on picking up two wins in their next two United Rugby Championship (URC) games as they host the Bulls in the cross-Jukskei derby this weekend and then the Sharks in early March at Ellis Park.

It is a vitally important two home matches for the currently 10th placed Johannesburg side as they target a top eight finish in the competition, and they know that two good wins over their local rivals will stand them in good stead going forward.

“We want to win our South African derbies. So the next two games against the Bulls and the Sharks are very important. I feel if we can win the next two games it will give us a very good chance of winning the SA conference,” explained Van Der Merwe.

“That will also give us a chance to get into the top eight and maybe a home playoff. So we are putting everything into these next two games.”

Highveld challenge

In their last URC match the Lions were edged 30-28 by the Bulls in a thriller at Loftus, with a last gasp penalty that could have won the game for them just drifting wide.

It was their fifth loss of the URC season, with all those defeats coming by seven points or less, which must be frustrating for the players to see them get so close but fail to get over the line.

They will thus be hoping to finish on the right side of the result this weekend in their return clash against their Highveld rivals, and will be aiming to fix the things that went wrong in the previous game.

“It is a bit frustrating. But in terms of the growth of the team, we are not the same Lions team from two seasons ago. At the end of the day we don’t want to just compete, we want to win. So it is frustrating to keep getting close and not pulling it, but we are almost there,” said Van Der Merwe.

“The past two weeks have been good for us as a team. We have had a chance to work on the things we wanted to work on, and we have had some good time off with our families, which was also good.

“The training sessions we have had we addressed the things we wanted to work on and hopefully those will come to fruition this weekend. We worked on small things. Like on the kick chase, making sure the catcher at the back has time and also just to finish opportunities we create in the 22m area.”