How the Lions plan to shock Leinster in big URC match in Joburg

Top Irish team Leinster will visit Ellis Park for the first time this weekend and they can expect a cold reception from their hosts, the Lions.

The United Rugby Championship leaders take on the Lions at 4pm on Saturday in a penultimate round match before facing the Bulls in their final league game at Loftus Versfeld next week.

Leinster are unbeaten this season and will top the log regardless of their next two results. But, the Lions need to win on Saturday and possibly next weekend, too, against Zebre, to qualify in the top eight for a place in the quarter-finals.

Altitude factor

And Lions captain Marius Louw is hoping Leinster, who hail from Dublin, will find the going tough at Ellis Park in Joburg, which is 1,753 metres above sea level.

“When I was at the Sharks (in Durban) I played up at Ellis Park multiple times and I never got used to it,” said Louw, referring to the altitude factor.

“I know Leinster are a professional team and they pride themselves on their work rate and they won’t ever give up, but we do want to use it (Ellis Park and the altitude factor) in our favour.

“They haven’t been here before and we want to throw whatever we can at them.”

Louw elaborated about the kind of punches his team would have to throw to get the better of the Irish side.

“It’s the areas we can control … we pride ourselves on a strong set-piece, winning the breakdowns, getting quick ball and slowing down their ball,” said Louw.

“We will try to beat them in all aspects of the game; it’s nothing special. It’s about being in as many battles as you can be and eventually you’ll come out on top.”

Positives

The Lions will be confident about their chances as Leinster have sent a fairly weakened and young squad on tour, while Ivan van Rooyen’s team have had a decent run of late.

Before going down to Glasgow Warriors in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals in Scotland last weekend, the Lions beat Benetton and the Bulls away and also got the better of Glasgow at home in URC action.

“There have been a lot of positives,” said Louw. “We can just do what we can as best we can for as long as we can … and then see how things go.

“We’ve got two URC games left and we’ll take them one at a time.”