More than just a 'basement battle'
The Lions and Cheetahs will be involved in their own 'final' when they meet at Ellis Park on Saturday – a battle to avoid the ignominy of finishing last in the South African conference.
There could be further dishonour for the loser in the form of being overtaken by the last-placed Rebels on the global table.
It is thus not surprising that Cheetahs coach Naka Drotské said victory is foremost on their minds.
"If we win we shift past the Lions," he told rugby365 in an interview ahead of his team's trip to Johannesburg.
He said they always measure themselves against the other South African teams in this competition.
"Obviously we did not achieve the goals we set for ourselves [at the start of the season]," Drotské said.
"The Cheetahs are proud of the fact that we had seven players in the last Springbok team [which beat Scotland in Port Elizabeth at the end of last month].
"However, we are keen to increase that number in the Bok team for the Rugby Championship," he said of the tournament which gets underway next month.
The Cheetahs coach said it is important that everybody in the team delivers, in order to improve players' chances of being called up to the Boks.
And, like all teams who have failed to make the play-offs, they would be looking for a good finish to salvage some pride after a disappointing season.
"The team spirit is good after last week's [27-20] win [over the Sharks] and we are all positive about the trip to Ellis Park."
Drotské is naturally wary of a Lions team having their best ever season since the ugly divorce from the Cheetahs at the end of 2005.
The first thing any coach points at when discussing the Lions is their famed scrumming power.
But Drotské said the Lions – despite having scored the least number of tries in the competition – remain dangerous when the game opens up.
"They can take the ball wide and are good in the off-load," he told rugby365, adding: "We will have to be alert on defence and ensure our set pieces are solid.
"We used our chances well [against the Sharks]. Our tactical kicking was great and our line-outs were great, especially in the second half when we put them under a lot of pressure.
"We may have conceded too many penalties in the scrums, but in general I am happy with where we are."
By Jan de Koning
