VIDEO: Lions reach for 'reset' button as vital Euro leg looms
The Lions, in one of their more successful seasons in recent years, head into the New Year with a monstrously tough schedule.
They head to Durban on Saturday – to face the Sharks in a United Rugby Championship catch-up match – after a three-week break.
However, they are looking to ‘reset’ ahead of a crucial month.
The Lions are on a four-match winning streak – losing (17-24) to Ulster in a URC Round Five match at Ravenhill Stadium in November.
That was followed by comprehensive URC victories over Zebre (61-19) and the Dragons (49-24), both at Ellis Park.
They started their European campaign with Challenge Cup victories over Perpignan (28-12 at Stade Aime Giral) and Newcastle Falcons (35-13 at Ellis Park), sitting pretty in second place in Pool Two.
To enable the players to ‘refresh’, the Ellis Park-based franchise postponed their Round Eight and Round Nine URC matches against the Sharks (to this coming Saturday, January 6) and Bulls (January 27).
Challenge Cup encounters with Montpellier (Stade Yves-du-Manoir, January 13) and hosting Ospreys at Ellis Park (January 21) will follow the URC trip to the Shark Tank.
That is followed by a trip to Loftus Versfeld on January 27, to conclude a challenging and intimidating January.
The Lions’ backline, attack and skills coach, Ricardo Loubscher, said it was important to “get away, have a break and spend time with family and friends”.
(WATCH as @king365ed talks to assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher and captain Marius Louw about a monstrous month of fixtures awaiting them at the start of 2024…)
“Mentally it was good for us,” he told @rugby365com, adding: “The timing of the break was perfect.
“This week is all about resetting and preparing well.
“We now need to put in a good performance against the Sharks.”
Loubscher said the enormity of the January challenge is not going to result in a change of approach by the Lions.
“We are not going to make a big deal about it, whether it is the Sharks or the Bulls.
“It is a normal week for us.
“Our focus is to ensure we prepare well and get our detail right – tick the right boxes.”
Captain Marius Louw spoke about the prospect of playing in the mid-summer heat and humidity of Durban, which is an added challenge for the men from Johannesburg.
While all of the Lions would have played in the Shark Tank before, not many of those games would have been in early January.
Louw spoke about the importance of ‘game management’ in challenging conditions.
“It is making sure you play in the right areas of the field,” he told @rugby365com.
“If you play in the right areas, things will start sticking.
“If you make mistakes in your areas, your confidence takes a knock.”
He also warned against a struggling Sharks team – with just two wins this season – finally hitting their straps.
“Everyone is looking for that one game where everything syncs.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
* Picture credit: @LionsRugbyCo
