Coach Ivan van Rooyen says the Lions are treating their Vodacom URC clash against Munster as a must-win and ignoring playoff permutations.
The Lions and Munster head into their final-round fixture at Thomond Park sitting fifth and sixth on the log respectively, with a quarter-final spot and Investec Champions Cup qualification on the line.
Although both teams will know what is required before kick-off on Saturday night, Van Rooyen has made it clear the Lions will not be distracted in the buildup.
“We see it as a must-win game,” he said. “Both us and Munster need the points to make sure that we go through. So we’re going to keep it up to us and that’s our mindset.”
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Reflecting on the 31-7 defeat to Leinster in Dublin on Saturday, which saw the Lions slip from third to fifth, Van Rooyen felt the scoreline did not fully reflect large parts of the performance.
“We showed some great character to fight back,” he said. “Up to minute 68, we felt we had swung the momentum back into our favour.
“Unfortunately, we made three defensive errors, which led to three tries.”
“There were also moments we created where we just didn’t capitalise. And before you know it, the game is away from you.”
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There is also concern over lock Ruan Venter, who returned home for scans on a knee injury sustained in Dublin.
“He is quite uncomfortable, quite sore,” said Van Rooyen. “He flew back last night to get home and get scans, and then we’ll see from that what the result is.”
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Photo: Lions Rugby/Facebook
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