Johannesburg – Few anticipated this outcome…
The Emirates Lions might complete a perfect European tour this weekend when they meet Edinburgh in their third and final United Rugby Championship (URC) match abroad this season.
After defeating Cardiff 31-18 on Friday, the Springboks improved to 2-0 in their tour. Previously, they won in Swansea against the Ospreys.
With nine points and seventh place in the standings, they have only fallen to the Bulls in the opening round of the competition thus far this season.
They are five points behind the early leaders Leinster and the Bulls and are in a group with Ulster (11 points), the Stormers (10 points), and the Sharks, Benetton, and Ospreys, all of whom have nine points.
After these two character-building and composed victories, the most recent of which came in difficult conditions, the Lions will now have the confidence to fly to Scotland and defeat Edinburgh as well.
The Lions will have begun preparations for Friday night’s contest on Sunday, giving them a little lead. After a loss to the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday, their hosts Edinburgh will most likely not return until Monday or Tuesday.
In spite of their two defeats in South Africa, Edinburgh has performed admirably and will be a formidable opponent at home.
However, a victory on Friday night versus Edinburgh might provide the Doornfontein-based team with new opportunities. They may then anticipate five home games against Ulster, Glasgow, the Stormers, the Dragons, and Scarlets at Emirates Airline Park.
This week, however, they must continue to build and improve in important areas before becoming overconfident.
On Friday night, their defense was quite sturdy, but Cardiff stretched them at times, leaving gaps in the larger channels. Cardiff could have likely trailed by a greater margin than 13-10 in the first half if it had not made some poor decisions.
The Lions missed 12 tackles, and against more disciplined opponents, they will be punished for this.
They can, however, be proud of their defensive performance, which has vastly improved since last season and was undoubtedly the reason they defeated the Welsh team. Their defensive discipline was also remarkable, as they only surrendered four penalties in their own half.
Their maul defense was tested at times, and they will undoubtedly work on that this week, while also making minor adjustments to their attacking maul, which was generally good but arguably lacked the same vigor and penetration in the latter stages of the match.
The most of the time, their set-pieces – scrums and line-outs – performed admirably and will be crucial against Edinburgh. Initial projections indicate that circumstances at the DAM Health Stadium will be comparable to those in Cardiff. Heavy precipitation is anticipated, therefore a contest controlled by the attackers is likely.
The Lions had a desire to run against Cardiff, particularly in the second half when the wind was in their favor, but they will need to improve up their handling, which was occasionally sloppy.
Ivan van Rooyen does not need to make significant adjustments to his match-day 23. The side that has been successful over the past two weeks should play again on Friday.
The only confirmed injury concern is Edwill van der Merwe, who suffered a concussion against Cardiff.