Lions: Let us entertain you
Lions coach Johan Ackermann will be buoyed by weather predictions for Cape Town on Saturday, as it may well aid his team.
The Lions, currently seventh on the standings, have one last shot at keeping their remote play-off hopes alive.
Victory over the Stormers, if they can deny he home team any points, will elevate them to the top of the South African conference – for at least a week.
They then have to hope the Sharks also beat the Stormers a week later and deny them any points.
However, in order to achieve their goal they are hoping for a clear day and a dry field – certainly not a guarantee in the middle of the notorious Cape winter.
As it is, it has been raining for most of the week in Cape Town.
However, Ackermann will be pleased to learn that the prediction for Saturday is 'plenty of sunshine, with a high of 17°C and no precipitation'.
With plenty at stake for both teams it is going to be a "huge challenge" for the Lions at Newlands, where the conditions are different from what they have experienced in recent weeks.
"We just have to keep doing what we have been doing," Ackermann told rugby365 in an interview 'with rugby365 ahead of Saturday's trip.
"We will have to work hard to get a result," he said, adding: "Our set pieces will have to be good and then we have a look at the weather to see what type of game it allows us to play."
He said they don't have the time to make major adjustments to what they have been doing so well for many weeks.
"Hopefully it will be an entertaining game. We have to handle it like we would handle any other game and not put unnecessary pressure on ourselves.
"It is basically out of our hands, because next week the Stormers can win.
"We must just go out and enjoy the game and hopefully finish the season on a high."
Ackermann said that not only are the Stormers always tough to beat at home, to get any points against them is always a tall order – because they have developed into such a good defensive team over the years.
Then there is their famed scrum, the best in the competition, and an improved counter-attacking game, which all add to the threat they pose.
"They play with confidence and know how to win games," the Lions mentor told rugby365, adding: "They have a lot to play for and will be very accurate.
"The team that handles the pressure best will triumph.
"We will have to do the small things right. We have played some games on dry fields, so we'll have to make that adjustment.
"However, the three key aspects will be line-outs, scrums and discipline."
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
