Lions head to Swansea with a spring in their step

Lions assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher believes the team’s stunning 38-14 away win over Connacht in Galway can be the springboard to a more permanent place in the competition’s top eight.

The Lions moved from 11th to eighth on the points table with their win on Saturday, and their backline coach believes they have more in them.

“We can use this opportunity to kick on,” he said from Wales where the Lions are preparing to play the Ospreys in Swansea this weekend. “I would like to see it as a bit of a tipping point in terms of the performances over the last few years.

“There is good clarity around our style of play, and as coaches we must make sure we get the selection right and make sure there is a plan A and a plan B.”

Highflying winger Edwill van der Merwe argues the Lions can pursue their stratospheric objectives set at the start of the campaign.

“I’m very excited,” Van der Merwe said about Saturday’s clash in Swansea. “It’s another chance to climb up the points table. We said at the start we want to finish in the top four and get a home play-off. We’ll take it as it comes, but that remains our goal.”

Loubscher was proud of the performance the Lions delivered in Galway. Before the Lions, only Leinster had left Galway with a victory this season. “To do it with 14 men, which put us under a lot of pressure, is credit to the boys. The ability to adapt and display that mindset to put up a good performance. We are really proud of that performance. Hopefully we can get one more this weekend.”

They will more than likely have to do it without the sturdy presence of tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, who was red carded against Connacht. Ntlabakanye lends considerable weight to the Lions’ scrum and he can be a destructive ball carrier.

“We have enough depth,” Loubscher said. “He is an important player and a great team man. We will miss him but we have depth. We just need to prepare the next guy.”

Though the Lions would have crossed the Irish Sea with a spring in their step, they will be wary of the Ospreys. The highest-ranked Welsh side are at 11th on the points table but they have the distinction of beating the Lions at Ellis Park, albeit in the Challenge Cup.

“The last 10 minutes of that game we allowed them to get in behind us and take opportunities,” Loubscher said. “Hopefully we can rectify that. That will be a big focus for us. At home they are tough.

“For us it is about moving forward and putting in another good performance. We need to prepare well. The bodies are a little sore after that [last Saturday’s] game especially given ball in play and effort defensively. The boys put in a big shift.”

Another win on the road will certainly enhance the Lions’ reputation as a formidable touring team. Loubscher believes life out of a suitcase helps bring clarity in the game plan.

Van der Merwe explained it further. “It’s just the 28 guys and coaches. There’s no other support. It’s just us, and it brings us closer.”