Horn ready for ‘cracker’ as Lions target rare derby win over Bulls

LIONS captain Francke Horn believes his side’s season may finally be turning after a stuttering start to their United Rugby Championship campaign, but insists none of their recent progress will matter if they can’t back it up in this weekend’s derby against the Bulls at Loftus.

- ROWAN CALLAGHAN

The Lions return from the international break chasing a third win in a row, after losing their opening three fixtures of the URC season. A convincing 49-31 victory over Ulster before the break injected renewed belief into Ivan van Rooyen’s team, and Horn said the two-week pause offered a crucial chance to reset.

“Obviously, everybody knows the first three games didn’t go our way. But this break came at a very good time for us after a very good win to reassess, regroup, see what we did well and how to exploit the fixtures coming up,” Horn said.

“And the Bulls would have also done the same. I think it's going to be a massive game this weekend. I know both teams are hungry for the victory, so I don’t expect anything less than a big, physical set-piece battle.”