BE in their faces, produce better set-piece ball for the backs and control the tempo of the game. Those are the three key areas Barend Pieterse feels the Lions must get right to knock over Cardiff at Ellis Park on Saturday (6.15pm kick-off).
The Johannesburg sides URC play-off hopes are up in the air following their 33-13 defeat to Munster a few weeks ago, and they are now in must-win mode to have any chance of making the top eight and qualifying for next seasons Champions Cup.
Coach Ivan van Rooyens team are 11th on the URC log with 39 points, while eighth-placed Benetton, who take on the Sharks in Durban on Saturday, are on 44.
So, while forwards coach Pieterse said yesterday that the top-eight dream is still alive for us, he knows that they cant afford to slip up once more, as they did in going down to Munster on April 27.
You would expect the Lions to stand up and topple Cardiff, who last won a match on Boxing Day last year and have lost nine in a row across all competitions since, but the men from the Welsh capital wont surrender meekly as their players are vying for Test berths against the Springboks in London on June 22.
The Lions battled to deal with the gamesmanship of Munster, and need to set the tone early on to get the better of Cardiff.
Pieterse said they are set to be bolstered by Quan Horn, who has recovered from his shoulder injury, so the star fullback should be able to provide much-needed direction at fullback.
Its something we speak about every day as a coaching staff. I mentioned it before the Leinster game as well we are up and down, Pieterse said.
The Pride is always cooking something special up against Cardiff. #LionsPride 🦁 pic.twitter.com/xh0HRFNd05
Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) May 7, 2024Thats been our season this whole season, from game one: good game, bad game. Thats something we need to look at ourselves, how we can improve that.
That is something that needed improvement yesterday already, because if we want to be successful as a union and play in the Champions Cup, then thats something we need to be better at.
Unfortunately, where we slacked a little bit (against Munster) is when we had the ball we also slowed it down.
That is something we can be better at. When we are in charge of the game, if its our line-out, we must try and speed it up. If Cardiff are clever, they will try to copy and paste a lot of the things that Munster did.
Leader of the Pride. Happy Birthday to our head coach Ivan Cash van Rooyen. #LionsPride 🦁 pic.twitter.com/3uIRx9w5gu
Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) May 7, 2024We have to be better in the execution of our set-piece. We have to be in their faces and not let them run onto us. On defence, we have to get off the line, set quickly.
