Johannesburg - Jake White, in his capacity as the coach of the Bulls, has never lost to the Lions in the United Rugby Championship (URC), a statistic the former Springbok mentor will perhaps take for granted and arguably have little appreciation for.
After all, the Pretoria side have bigger concerns at the moment, such as jostling in the tournament’s top eight for the best possible position.
Truth be told, in the previous three encounters in the tournament between the neighbours, the Lions were not good enough to beat their trans-Jukskei rivals.
In the opening game of the campaign, an undercooked Lions side hosted a rusty Bulls team and lost 31-15. Last season, the Bulls triumphed in both legs, 34-10 and 21-13.
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In fact, one would have to go back all the way to May 2021 and the Rainbow Cup to record the last time the Joburgers beat White and company – a narrow 34-33 win at Emirates Airline Park.
Ivan van Rooyen’s team would give anything to the rugby gods on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld (kickoff 4.45pm) for a similar outcome, regardless of how nerve-racking it might be.
A near two yearlong losing streak to the Bulls is perhaps the biggest indictment of the current state of affairs of the Lions on-the-field. It was not too long ago that the shoe was firmly on the other foot, and it was the Lions who held near perfect hegemony.
Nevertheless, and despite oscillation in form and functions at the union these last few weeks, the Lions will have some belief that they can beat their northern peers. The recent victory over Glasgow Warriors will ensure such confidence, however tenuous it might be, while the victory by the Stormers over the Bulls at Loftus will show the way.
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Speaking on Tuesday, Lions assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher gave some indication on how that confidence can be built into a positive result.
“We had a look at (the previous) games and it came down to execution and taking our chances,” Loubscher said of the review process.
“We saw against the Sharks that we created the right opportunities, so there has been a big focus on our side the last week or two to make sure we nail our opportunities. Once you take your chances, whether it is three points, or whether it is an attacking opportunity, it will be a different ball game.”
Against Glasgow, the Lions did take those chances, especially on the counter.
It resulted in five tries, with two being particularly noteworthy. The first was initiated by Quan Horn running the ball back at pace from his 22, releasing Edwill van der Merwe and Sanele Nohamba, while the second relied on the continued pressure for Francke Horn to capitalise on a mistake.
In what is expected to be an arm-wrestle, it will be these small moments and opportunities that could define the URC clash. The rest, the system should be able to manage.
“There must be clarity around our plan,” Loubscher said.
“We must have composure on-field and also in terms of our discipline to stick to our plan ... Over the last few weeks, we have been really working hard on our attack to create the right opportunities and to finish it off.
“We’ve simplified our plan. There is less info to make sure there is clarity regarding how we want to play the game and our approach … In alignment between the coaches and the players, I think we really took a step forward.
“It is about being patient,” he added. “We can see the positives going forward, if we stick to those things.”
@FreemanZAR