A tale of two teams: Can the Lions upset Leinster and the Bulls break their URC duck?
· Citizen
The Lions and Bulls will likely be heading into the United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs with wildly different goals, as the two Highveld sides prepare to take on two Irish powerhouses in the quarterfinals.
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While the Lions are firmly up against it as they take on the defending champions, Leinster, in Dublin, the Bulls host a dangerous Munster side plagued by off-field problems at Loftus Versfeld.
The Lions will be complete underdogs with no pressure on them or expectation to win which could allow them to play with a lot more freedom.
They will have also been in Ireland for close to a month by the time their quarterfinal rolls around, so will be fully acclimatised, and having faced Leinster in the pool stage a few weeks ago, and even Munster over the past weekend, will be well prepared of what to expect.
Leinster also face a bruising Champions Cup final against Bordeaux Begles in Spain on Saturday, so they could suffer a hangover from what should be a brutal game.
Bulls favourites
The Bulls though will be favourites against Munster, as they are in top form, while the Irish side have struggled on the field and had off field drama that has added to their woes.
But they still can’t be underestimated as in the 2022-23 season they won the competition after finishing fifth, winning away knockouts against Glasgow Warriors, Leinster and the Stormers to lift the trophy.
The Bulls have reached three out of four URC finals so far, without winning the title, so they will be incredibly motivated to go all the way this time.
If they get past Munster, as they should, they will face either Glasgow in Scotland, or host Connacht at Loftus if the Irish side upset the odds.
If the Lions manage to pull off what would arguably be the biggest upset in the URC’s history by beating Leinster on their home turf, they will either travel to Cape Town to face the Stormers or Wales to take on Cardiff.
And if both Highveld sides make it to the final, it will be the Bulls against the Lions at Loftus. Now wouldn’t that be exciting.