Jaque Fourie said the Lions know what’s at stake against the DHL Stormers on Saturday, as Morne van den Berg backs the visiting forward pack to dominate the set-piece battle.
The Lions will tackle John Dobson’s men at Cape Town Stadium in the last round of the league phase of the Vodacom URC.
Already through to the URC playoffs, the Stormers cannot finish lower than seventh on the standings, but the ninth-placed Lions are hunting their first playoff appearance, a feat that hinges on getting the win this week.
The Capetonians held off a Lions fightback to win 35-33 at Ellis Park in round 1 of the competition, and speaking in a Lions conference on Tuesday, Fourie acknowledged the challenge that awaits the team in the Mother City.
“Like every week we’ve got a good plan, we’ve just got to go out there and implement it,” the assistant coach told reporters. “We know what is at stake; we have to get a win, and a win with a bonus point would be even better.
“That’s just the crux of the situation – we’ve to go out and win on Saturday. We’re only human and we’re always going to have that thought at the back of our heads that it’s a must-win for us.
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“But with the players that we have, and the season that we’ve had, we’re process driven and if we stick to our basics most of the time we come out victorious… The end result will take care of itself and then what will happen will happen.
“We know they want to offload, they want to get in behind you and want to play with quick ball, so our challenge is going to be to man up and physically stop their momentum, and to put them under pressure to play more on the back foot.”
“Any team would prefer to be the underdog going into this game, most of the people writing you off and not giving you a chance,” Fourie added. “We all know that whenever your back is against the wall and you’ve got nothing to lose then you’re a dangerous team.
“We don’t mind going into this game as underdogs [but] the way that we’ve been playing the last three or four games we’ve got a lot of confidence and hopefully we just continue with that confidence on Saturday.”
Scrumhalf Van den Berg emphasised the importance of starving the Stormers’ dangerous backs of possession: “They’re very good from broken play, and have a lot of X-factor players who if you give them time they can really bring magic, if you want to call it that.
“It’s really about closing down their time [on the ball] and expecting that [kind of play] and being in the moment. Their biggest threat is definitely their X-factor.
“It’s also a massive battle for our forward pack, I’m really keen to see what our boys are going to do. I expect a lot from them this weekend because I know how hard they train.
“I back our boys to give myself and the rest of the backline a good platform. If you see that pack going forward and have dominance then you know it’s going to be a good day.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
