Lions have to beat Edinburgh to prove top eight credentials
· Citizen
The Lions have to pick up a win, preferably with a bonus point, in their important United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Edinburgh at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon, if they are to prove their top eight credentials.
The Lions took a big step towards reaching the URC playoffs for the first time by winning four of their six local derbies this season to win the South African Shield for the first time, and they now have to kick on and make history once again.
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It has been a difficult past four seasons in the URC for the Lions, with them unable to crack the top eight, while they finished agonisingly close with two ninth placed finishes.
But it is often down the back end of the competition that they have bottled it from promising positions, and they need to make sure that they don’t do it again.
The Lions currently sit seventh on the URC log, but have a number of teams in close proximity to them, so one bad result could see them slip into the bottom half.
With them on 33 points, there is a gap of six points to Munster above them in sixth, while below them the Bulls and Connacht, both on 30, and Ospreys on 29, are chasing them hard.
This weekend could however turn into a big one for the Lions, if they do their job by beating Edinburgh, and then hope some other results go their way.
The Bulls face a tricky encounter against surprise package Cardiff, who are currently fifth on the IRC log, but playing at home on the Highveld still makes them favourites for the match.
Tough games
Connacht have an incredibly tough away match against fellow Irish side Ulster, while Ospreys are also away against unpredictable Benetton, who despite their struggles this season, often turn it on when at home in Italy.
So if things go their way the Lions could build a bit of a gap on some of their closest challengers for a spot in the competition knockouts.
Although Edinburgh have struggled this season, sitting 12th on the log and seven points off the playoff spots, they will be fired up knowing that another loss will likely end their playoff aspirations.
They will thus go all out to pick up and upset win over the Lions on the Highveld, which they have been unable to do before.
The URC Lions URC record over Edinburgh has been superb, with them winning three of their four encounters, 15-9 at Ellis Park in season one, 22-19 the Hive Stadium in season two, while their sole loss was in season three in Scotland, going down 17-16.
Last season however the Lions scored a blowout 55-21 win back on home turf and they will be eager to produce a similar performance this weekend.
They could be aided if Edinburgh bring a weakened team to South Africa, as the Six Nations just concluded over the past weekend and it is unknown if their Scottish internationals will be available, but due to the importance of the match they may rush them back.
Whatever the case, the Lions have to pick up a win, to continue their good momentum ahead of three more big home matches, before they finish the URC pool phase with a tough two game tour of Ireland.