Captain reveals what the Lions changed to turn their URC campaign around

Having turned around their United Rugby Championship season over the last three weeks, the Lions can realistically start thinking about a top-10 finish in their maiden campaign in the competition.

Just over a month ago the Lions were on a five-match losing streak and languishing third from bottom in the standings, with just two wins and eight defeats from their 10 matches.

Now they have moved two places up the table and within striking distance of the top 10, after three wins on the trot, two with bonus points.

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Despite the good form and turnaround of fortunes, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen is not concerned about log placings, shifting his focus to this weekend’s clash with high-flying Edinburgh and the continued improvement of his team.

“We have to get past Edinburgh first. Top 10, top eight, let’s see if we get there. For us what is important is to keep on growing and to fix what we need to fix for Edinburgh,” said Van Rooyen.

“Then it’s the Sharks, then it’s a weekend off and then we go again. So we are not too worried about where we are going to end up on the log currently. Just turning around as we have the last three weeks and to keep building on it is what is important for us.”

Two key sectors that the Lions have improved on during their impressive run of wins over overseas opposition has been their impressive defence and scintillating attack, especially from broken play.

In the four games leading up to their three-match winning streak, they scored only four tries and conceded 14, and didn’t pick up a single point.

In their last three games they have scored 13 tries while conceding seven, showing a marked improvement on both fronts, which captain Burger Odendaal explained came down to an improved performance at the breakdown.

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“On defence we don’t want to defend 15 or 20 phases. We want to make a turnover as quick as possible, so in our defensive sessions we really try to push as hard as possible to make the turnover and then not just get the ball back, but attack from it,” said Odendaal.

“We have been working on using defence as an attacking tool as well. The guys are looking really sharp and it is carrying over from the training field.

“With the offloads, we have been working extremely hard on our support play. So it is a big focus point for us that when there is a line break, get numbers around the ball and then we can keep the ball alive.”