VIDEO: Lions coach reveals their aim for URC

VIDEO: Lions assistant coach Barend Pieterse is still talking about a possible Top Four finish in the United Rugby Championship and the odds are still on their side.

The Lions have one game in hand over the Bulls and Sharks and two over the rest. Their current position on the log is 12th with 23 points and the Bulls, who they face at Loftus this weekend, are third (35 points).

With one game in hand, Pieterse acknowledged that their current position on the log is not pretty, but their dream of reaching the Top Eight has not faded yet.

Especially coming off an energised victory over the Stormers last weekend.

In 2022, the men from Johannesburg finished 12th and moved to ninth in 2023.

They were just one try off from a Play-Off spot last season as Ospreys snuck in ahead of them in the final moments of Round 18.

The Johannesburg outfit finished level on points with Ospreys, who finished just above them in eighth with more games won.

The Welsh side scored a bonus-point try with just seconds remaining in their Judgement Day clash with Cardiff to leave the Lions heartbroken.

Coming into this season, the Lions had plenty of positives to take with them. They scored an impressive 67 tries last season, running in a whopping 7144 metres with 142 clean breaks.

They also pulled off some huge results including a double over the Sharks, an away win against Connacht, and a hugely impressive 44-21 win over champions Glasgow Warriors despite playing a chunk of that game with 13 players on the pitch.

As they head to Loftus this weekend in their second meeting in less than a month they would look to improve on their set-piece performance.

Last time round the Bulls triumphed 35-22 at Ellis Park late in January, and on that occasion the Bulls’ pack got the better of the hosts, helping them to a comfortable win.

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But Pieterse says their focus remains firmly focused on qualifying for the Top Eight.

“Our motivation is still to reach the Top Eight – at the end of the day, we really want to finish in the Top Four,” Pieterse confirmed.

“If you look at the points on the log, it doesn’t look great. But we have a game in hand.

“So although the points table does not look ideal, we are actually in a very good position at the moment.”

“The motivation is still there for us to move into the Top Eight or even Top Four.

“We definitely don’t want to be where we are at the moment,” he added.

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The big Lions prop Asenatha Ntlabkanye said his side was looking forward to playing in Pretoria, where they have quite a substantial following.

“Some of the Lions fans are based in Pretoria. It is quite a rivalry and it’s a nice time for them to spend an afternoon at Loftus and watch the team play.

“And it would be nice to get them on a winning side on Saturday. It’s going to a good battle.

Following the clash at Loftus this weekend, the Lions face back-to-back games against the Sharks as they finish their derbies off for the season.