Lions cling to hope, but know first step is winning this weekend

The Emirates Lions know that they have only one option left in their season - and that is to win, and win well.

They stopped a five-game losing streak with the win over Connacht a fortnight ago and reignited their slim hopes of making the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs, but they know that any misstep will be fatal and deliver the blow they are desperately trying to avoid.

Their opponents on Saturday - Welsh side Scarlets - are also in contention for a playoff spot and are eight points above them in seventh spot, where the Lions lie in 13th ahead of this weekend.

Crucially the Lions can only get to a maximum of 45 points, which in the past few seasons hasn’t been enough to get them over the line and into the playoffs.

This season the log has been congested, and in these last two rounds several of the other teams competing for a playoff spot - and by extension a place in the Investec Champions’ Cup - are playing each other, and results from those games are vital to the fortunes of other South African sides as well.

The Scarlets shocked the URC in their last game two weeks ago when they became only the second side to beat Irish juggernaut Leinster, indicating that they are in form and heading to Johannesburg looking for much-needed points.

That will up the ante this weekend in the game between the two sides, as neither can afford a loss and the desperation of the Lions will need to be coupled with attacking accuracy if they are to get a victory and take a step towards the top eight.

NON-NEGOTIABLE: BONUS POINT NEEDED

A bonus-point victory is therefore non-negotiable for the Lions, who will then need to wait until the dust settles before they can understand what their task is in the final round.

The reality is that the top five teams are already out of reach for the Lions, and the Stormers, currently in sixth, face the Dragons this weekend with the latter firmly at the bottom of the table with only one win this season.

The likelihood is that the Stormers will take at least a point from their home game, if not more, putting them out of the Lions’ reach.

Scarlets and Benetton are seventh and eighth with the latter having a tough game against Glasgow Warriors which is vitally important to the Vodacom Bulls hopes of finishing second as well. A win for Benetton will take them out of the Lions’ reach as well.

Then there is the tough derby between Munster and Ulster, both outside the top eight and desperate to find a way in. Munster have 41 points and Ulster 38 and if Munster manage to win at Thomond Park they will also be out of reach of the Lions.

Another side the Lions need to keep their eye on is Edinburgh, who face Connacht in a game that will end one side’s hopes of the top eight, and if the Scottish side win, they will face Ulster in a virtual knockout game next week. Two Ulster or Edinburgh victories will also end the Lions’ hopes of making the playoffs.

Either way, the path is extremely difficult for the Lions to get to the top eight and they need a series of dominos to fall in their favour to have a chance, and even that may not be enough if they don’t deliver two five point wins in the next fortnight.

But where there is a chance, there is a way it seems and the Lions will keep on believing.

They know that the first step is to do their part and do it well, or nothing else will matter.