Lions URC form: From promising start to worrying signs

The Lions have unfortunately gone backwards at a rate of knots over the past four weeks of local derby United Rugby Championship action, after building nicely over the first five game weeks of the competition.

Four losses in a row have left the Lions floundering just two places off the bottom of the URC table and they somehow have to reverse those fortunes over the coming months or face a disastrous first season in the tournament.

The Lions were given the perfect entry into the competition with a match up against the competition’s worst team Zebre, in their first overseas game.

They couldn’t have asked for a better chance to get off to a flyer and at first they did, racing to a 38-0 lead just after half time, before they were stunned by the Zebre reply as the hosts scored 26 unanswered points.

Despite letting Zebre back in the Lions still started with a bonus point win to get off to a great start, however the second half performance was a warning sign of what they could expect if they didn’t shape up on defence.

Enormity of task

That is then exactly what happened as the Lions were smashed 36-13 by Llanelli Scarlets in their second match to be brought crashing back down to earth, making them realise the enormity of the task ahead of them.

It was then credit to the Lions as they learned from their mistakes as they enjoyed two solid games to end their overseas tour, just going down 13-9 to Glasgow Warriors in a game they could have won, and although they were beaten 26-10 by Ulster, it was a valiant performance against one of the competition’s top teams.

Having only picked up one win in four, it was still a promising start for the Lions in a new competition in new conditions and different refereeing interpretations.

They were then all set to welcome their first overseas opposition when Covid threw the SA teams a curveball with the discovery of a new variant, sending the foreign teams scrambling for home, leaving the local teams in limbo.

However, hastily rearranged fixtures then saw the local teams paired up for one round of local derbies at the start of December which would be their last URC game for the year.

Derbies

Although unlucky to have to travel to Cape Town to face a strong Stormers team, the Lions then gave the biggest indication that they had turned the corner form-wise with a fantastic performance to claim a bonus point 37-19 win.

This meant they ended the year as the highest placed South African team on the URC log and in good spirits ahead of the resumption of the competition for them in the new year.

Once the fixtures were then confirmed and a tough four week round of local derbies lined up for the SA teams, the Lions would have been buoyed by the fact that they were playing three games at home, while two of those were against coastal opposition.

However, despite all the good work they had done over the first five matches, the Lions then threw that out the window spectacularly to lose all four local derbies to pick up just one point from a possible 20, with them now comfortably the lowest ranked SA team.

Their first loss against the Sharks wasn’t too bad as they played well in patches to go down 47-37, while they also showed some fight in going down against the Bulls 21-13 in Pretoria a few weeks later, however the 34-10 and 32-10 home defeats against the Bulls and Stormers respectively were bitterly disappointing.

There are various factors contributing to the Lions’ poor form, but after all the hard work built up over the first five games, to then let it all go in four local derbies is unacceptable.

Not everything is lost however, as after a tough away game against Leinster next weekend, the Lions return to Ellis Park where they will host overseas opposition for two months, where they will have a chance to redeem themselves.