By Brenden Nel.
You could forgive the Emirates Lions for getting the feeling of deja vu in the next few weeks as they run out to face foreign opposition in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
Because starting on Sunday it will be their first of three encounters with the Welsh side Dragons in the next two months.
The return of URC action means that the Lions will face the Dragons home and away in the next few months, followed by their entry into European competition in the European Challenge Cup against…you guessed it, the same opposition.
So while the Welsh side remain dangerous and will test the Johannesburg Lions, the key to their victory will be enforcing their own game against opposition who will regroup and look for key points and wins as the season heads into the business end of the competition.
The European Challenge Cup game is on December 11, and then Lions then visit Rodney Parade in late January, giving them ample opportunity to get to know their Welsh counterparts a lot better.
The Lions are looking for a clean sweep and need to bury their own monster in their own backyard after failing to record a win in South Africa on home soil yet. Their record makes for bizarre reading with three wins on the road, but not a solitary victory on home soil as they fell to the Bulls, Ulster and Stormers in games they all had a chance of winning.
As their former mentor Swys de Bruin has highlighted, it is an opportunity for them to use the highveld summer to their advantage and speed the game up. But for now, as winger Edwill van der Merwe said this week, they need to secure the wins first.
“We are playing Dragons three times in eight weeks, so we have done our analysis on them and we will keep preparing as the week goes on,” Van der Merwe told a media briefing.
“Playing them three times in two competitions in a short span of time is going to be a different challenge and we will try and get positive results in both competitions.
“Dragons are a quality side and they have been playing much better this season especially compared to last season, so we are looking forward to the match and a good season.
The Dragons are keen to move the ball as well, but the Lions will need to use their home ground advantage and knowledge of the conditions to run their opposition off their feet. Van der Merwe indicated the message had come through loud and clear.
“By speeding up the game, obviously the most important thing is getting gainline carries – the forwards and back getting over the gain line,” said Van der Merwe.
“That is where you start gaining momentum and then you can speed up the game. Firstly, we want to win the physical battle – that is a part of this Lions side, being a physical team. We have to do that over the weekend, so that from there we can speed up the game.”
The Lions however, need to get their own demons in check first, and strike the first blow. Losing at home ahead of two more big games against the Dragons won’t go down well and they know it.
Somewhere the response has to be turned into action.