‘The proof will be in the pudding,’ says confident Lions captain Francke Horn
· Citizen
A confident Lions captain Francke Horn said his team will have to back up a good pre-season with a strong performance in their United Rugby Championship (URC) opener against defending champs Leinster at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 1:30pm).
Visit newsbetting.club for more information.
Following on from a breakout URC campaign last season where they reached the competition quarterfinals for the first time and qualified for the Champions Cup, the Lions now want to back that up with another top showing.
They face a tough challenge first up in Leinster, who heavily beat them twice late last season in Dublin, including to knock them out of the competition, but with the Irish giants bringing a weakened side to SA as usual, it opens a big door for the Lions to pick up a good statement win.
However, they will still need to turn up for the match, and Horn said as much during the week in the build-up to the game.
“I think it’s (our pre-season) been very successful. But obviously the proof’s in the pudding (against Leinster) on Saturday,” said Horn.
“We had a nice build up to the All Blacks (Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour match last month). We could test what we had been doing in pre-season, and then after that match see what still needed to be worked on (before the start of the URC).
“So I am really excited about where we are as a team heading into the season. It’s going to be a big one against Leinster, but we’re really looking forward to it. But the boys are prepped and ready to do.
A lot of confidence
The All Blacks game will have given the Lions a lot of confidence as they were almost the only South African franchise team to beat them on their tour.
The Lions led the New Zealanders 35-17 early in the second half, before being floored by a late show that saw them steal a 41-35 win, still needing a late try on fulltime to secure the result.
“We want our supporters to expect performances like the one (we put out) against the All Blacks. After all, we expect that of ourselves,” explained Horn.
“I wouldn’t say we set the standard there, but we gave a very good indication of our identity as a team and how we want to play this season.
“If that can attract supporters to Ellis Park and we can fill the stadium, it would be wonderful. The onus is on us as players to produce good performances week in and week out.”
Horn also admitted that starting their campaign at home on the highveld was a golden chance to get their season off to a good start, but said they still had to utilise those advantages if they want to start with a win.
“Everyone has something special at home, and obviously we are at altitude, but we still have to make altitude work for us,” said Horn.
“If we are sloppy or if we don’t force our game onto them, then Leinster can take control of the game and then altitude won’t do anything for us. So yes it’s there, but we still have to use it to our advantage.”