Come rain, snow, sleet or sunshine, the Lions have a clear goal in mind when they face the Dragons on Sunday in the United Rugby Championship in Newport (kick-off 3.30pm).
Sitting next to the Bristol Channel as it does, Rodney Parade can experience four seasons in a day, but regardless of the conditions on the pitch, Barend Pieterse wants the forward unit of the Joburgers to unleash their backline, especially the back-three, who have been devastating so far this season.
Between Springboks Quan Horn and Edwill van der Merwe and Rabz Maxwane and Tapiwa Mafura, the out-backs have scored seven of the Lions’ 13 tries in the two matches they have played. Getting the pill to the trio, then, will be a priority tomorrow and beyond. That objective will require that the Lions not change their current approach as they seek a third win from as many games in the tournament.
Said Pieterse on Thursday from Wales: (The set-pieces) will always be an important aspect of the game for us but our outside-backs are really dangerous.
“We need to get the ball on the edges … If we look at the weather, it actually doesn’t look too bad.
“It has been going well for us the past two weeks and we need to stick to what is working for us. We won't try anything too funny, or anything like that.”
The Lions mauled Edinburgh – in that they savaged the visitors in the first half by storming to a 48-0 lead – by playing enterprising and exhilarating rugby. It saw a willingness to move the ball to the wings as quickly as possible, with loose-forwards Jarod Cairns, JC Pretorius and Francke Horn on hand to dominate the contact area with power and pace, before offloading to their unmarked backs.
Despite their unquestioned dominance in the 55-21 victory, Pieterse cautioned that the team had much to meliorate upon after their stellar start. The URC season is young and there is still a long road to becoming Top 8 contenders.
“Even with 10 points, there is a lot that we can improve on,” said the former Springbok lock. “After the great start we had against Edinburgh, in the second half in the first 20 to 30 minutes, we were nowhere.
“If we have a lead of 50 points, we mustn't play as if we are defending that 50 points. If we are 50 points down at half-time, we should be that team that can make up those points as well.
“We gave away a lot of penalties in the second half (as many as 10). Our aim is not to give away 10 or 11 penalties. There are a lot of things we can work on to become a championship team.”
To become that championship team, the Lions will need a positive result from Sunday’s game. Thereafter, they face Zebre before ending the first block of their away matches in Europe against Leinster. An eight to 10 point haul will certainly be first prize before the start of the November International Test window. Currently sixth in the standings, there is good reason to be optimistic that they can achieve that goal.
“We are very happy where we are at the moment,” said Pieterse. We are a happy group at the moment and it is nice to come on tour with 10 points.
“We will have to keep that momentum going. If we really want to become a championship team, this is the tour that we need to get our points.
“It will make it easier for us at the end of the season, so as not to rely on other teams to lose to get to the Top 8. We want it in our hands,” he concluded.