How Lions can eliminate Bulls from URC Shield race
SPOTLIGHT: The Lions could eliminate the Bulls from the South African Shield race should they topple Johan Ackermann’s troops at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The race is on for the South African shield in the United Rugby Championship, with Stormers (third – nine points), the Lions (second – 10 points), and Sharks first (11 points), with the Bulls languishing in last place with two losing bonus points.
A win for the Bulls won’t move them up the ladder, but will put them within striking distance of the Lions, with the Stormers and Sharks in the driver’s seat to take top honours in their rematch in Durban.
Should the Lions win, they could completely take the Bulls out of the running for the silverware.
The Bulls will have two local derbies left following the Lions clash, and even if they get the maximum points from their matches against the Stormers and Sharks, it would leave them between 12 and 14 points after the local derbies concluded, should a loss against the Lions occur this weekend.
Lions head coach Ivan Van Rooyen referred to the competitiveness of the South African Shield and stated that it will come down to which team executes their respective plans to the best of their ability.
“The SA Shield is wide open. Basically, all four teams are pretty much in it.
“It’s up to us to control what we can control. Starting with the Bulls this weekend.
“They’ll be hurting from the [Round Six] result at Loftus [Versfeld].
“With Kurt-Lee [Arendse] and Canan [Moodie] back, they’ve got a couple of superstars returning.
“Following their two overseas wins, they’ll be a very different team, but we need to rise to that emotional and physical level.
“Obviously, both teams have plans, but it’s the team that can execute it under pressure this weekend and hit their strengths more often that will win.”
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Van Rooyen also pinpointed the reasons why his team so far failed to get over the line against the Bulls in the URC at Ellis Park.
The Bulls dominated the Jukskei derby in the URC, winning seven from their nine fixtures against the Lions, including all the derbies played at Ellis Park.
The Lions managed to grab two scalps at Loftus Versfeld, including a recent Round Six victory.
When asked why the Lions find it so difficult to beat the Bulls at Ellis Park, Van Rooyen said the Bulls are a difficult side to win against in general, be it home or away.
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“Last year [Ellis Park], when Canan [Moodie] and Willie [Le Roux] came on, they took the game away from us in the air.
“Willie had two X-Factor moments, and they scored two tries to beat us.
“Even if it’s at Loftus [Versfeld] or here [Ellis Park], their big moment players tend to come through for them when required.”
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