Lions refuse to dwell on Cardiff defeat as play-off race heats up

THE Lions cannot afford to dwell on their frustrating loss to Cardiff, if they are to achieve their objective of reaching the play-offs of the United Rugby Championship (URC).

- MORGAN BOLTON

And rest assured, they very much believe that they are part of that conversation and deserve to be in the Top 8 mix, according to JC Pretorius.

The Lions flanker admitted on Tuesday, during a media briefing from Glasgow, that the Joburg-based side had stumbled in their recent 20-17 defeat but that there was still time to rectify and right the ship in the coming weeks, starting with the Glasgow Warriors on Saturday (kick-off 9.35pm).

That belief will be needed in spades as they finish off the URC regular season with games against the defending champions, followed by a home stretch of matches against Benetton, Connacht, Scarlets, and the Ospreys.

“I feel, especially in this competition, if you stumble along the road or lose a game, you can't go back to that defeat, because you will lose sight of your next job,” said Pretorius. “I wouldn't say our backs are against the wall, but I know we can fight our way out of this, and we definitely deserve to be in the Top 8.”