Thirsty Lions desperate to down Dragons
Yesterday at 07:45 AM
The Lions will view an EPCR Challenge Cup showdown with the Dragons at Ellis Park on Saturday as an oasis in the desert.
Cash van Rooyen’s team is thirsty for a sip of victory after a 28-5 reverse at Montpellier, their fifth defeat in six matches across the Challenge Cup and Vodacom URC, and in Dragons they may find relief from the drought.
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The Lions returned from the south of France having lost by four tries to one for no material gain in Pool 2 where they are ranked fifth after three matches with five log points, all of which came from the 43-35 win against Pau in Joburg before Christmas.
They will be hoping to again mine a deposit of five log points in the City of Gold this week as they chase a seventh consecutive win against Dragons.
In six matches dating back to the first meeting between these teams, in May 2021 of the inaugural URC season, Dragons' best result against their Highveld counterparts was a 31-31 draw at Ellis Park in December of 2022.
In this fixture’s most recent skirmish, a try from loose forward Jarod Cairns, converted by playmaker Sanele Nohamba, negated a Taine Basham brace as the Lions clawed back from a six-point deficit in the second half to win 23-19 at Rodney Parade.
That victory marked their third in succession against the Welsh club, extended their hot start to the season to three wins and improved the Lions to third place in the URC.
The following week they edged Zebre in Parma to climb into second place on the table.
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They have since experienced an ugly fall from grace, road losses to Leinster, Munster, Ospreys and the Stormers demoting the Lions to 12th before last week's heavy defeat at Montpellier threatened to eliminate them from a place in the Challenge Cup knock-out stages.
The match marks the first of four home games for the Lions in their next five fixtures, and any hope of a resurgence rests squarely on Van Rooyen’s men reviving their ailing Challenge Cup campaign with a full-blooded, winning performance against Dragons.
However low the levels of morale in the Lions camp, Dragons have reason to lay claim to even less reserves of confidence. The Welsh club are 1-10 in their last 11 matches and are rooted to the bottom of the URC table with a 1-8 record.
Ironically, due to the narrower margins of their two Challenge Cup losses this season, and an eight-point win at Newcastle, Dragons are fourth in Pool 2, ahead of the Lions on points-difference.
It's do or die for both teams this week, the winner guaranteed a ticket to the Round of 16.
The 2023/24 Challenge Cup title sparked a Sharks revival that has this season driven the Durban team into fifth place in the URC after eight matches.
The Lions will be eager to copycat this blueprint, beginning with a win against Dragons that clears their throats to roar into the playoffs.
Photo: Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images
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