- The Lions will need all their United Rugby Championship and European Professional Rugby Challenge Cup smarts to overcome Leinster on Saturday.
- Their Ellis Park clash will be the second of the double header, with the Bulls taking on Zebre in the early game.
- The Lions need to beat Leinster and Zebre next week to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Lions will hope to lean on their European Professional Rugby Challenge Cup experience to see how far they can take the imposing Leinster side down the rabbit warren at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Lions’ clash against the Irish powerhouses, who aren’t just unbeaten in the United Rugby Championship but have also looked the money in the Heineken Champions Cup, will show how much the Lions have taken in from their Challenge Cup travels.
The Lions did well, with 14 men, to swat aside Racing 92 in the Challenge Cup last 16 on 1 April, but they couldn’t repeat the party trick against Glasgow last Saturday.
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Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys didn’t want to go deep into what they learned from the second-tier competition, but hoped for their URC and EPRC stew to come right against the best side in the competition.
The Lions’ clash against Leinster will be the second in the Ellis Park double-header, with the Bulls/Zebre game kicking off proceedings at 13:00.
“This year was the time we played in both the URC and the EPRC at the same time and I can keep you busy with the list of things we’ve learned and how we can take them forward,” Redelinghuys said.
“There’s been growth each week and we’ve learned new things along the way while trying to apply them.
“The guys have been really quick to adapt and learn. It’s one thing to learn, but to apply quickly is part of the growth we’ve seen.
“It’s about carrying on that growth more this weekend than in another weekend because, on every weekend, you learn a lot.”
The Lions also have everything to gain from the Leinster clash, along with next week’s home meeting against Zebre.
A full 10 point-haul from both games will allow the Lions to finish on 48 points.
The Lions are currently in 11th with 38 points, with 10th-placed Cardiff Blues a point ahead, but with tough away trips to Connacht and the Ospreys to finish their season.
Ninth-placed Benetton is a further point ahead of the Blues, but they have testing games against the Sharks on Friday and the Stormers next week in Durban and Cape Town respectively.
Lions inside centre and captain Marius Louw said all they could do was focus on what they needed to do and keep working harder.
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“The best we can do is to focus on ourselves, and we’ll take things one game at a time,” Louw said.
“What will give us the best chance is getting five points off both teams we’ll be facing and making sure they get no points.
“We can only control what we can and the best scenario for us is by winning handsomely and giving our opponents nothing.
“There’s no change of mindset. As a matter of fact, we want to keep on growing and working even harder.”