Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has offered the starting XV that lost to Cardiff last week a shot at redemption in Glasgow on Saturday night (9.35pm kick-off) by naming an unchanged team.
The Lions were in eighth place last week, but the 20-17 loss in Cardiff has plunged them to 13th position.
That means they are currently out of range of the top eight, and the pressure is on them to get log points against the defending champions.
Hence the unchanged team named on Friday as Van Rooyen sticks with his best players. There is no chance of rest as the Lions attempt to get back to winning ways after recent losses to Cardiff and the Sharks.
Suddenly, their big defeat of the Sharks in Johannesburg in the first game of their home-and-away series seems a distance away.
There is one change on the bench, with the luckless Henco van Wyk returning home with a foot injury after having just returned from injury.
Giant prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye will be a key man against the second-placed Warriors, and he says every log point the Lions can grab is vital.
He feels that the point they picked up against Cardiff could prove invaluable in the long run.
“I think when you are playing away, especially here in Europe, and you get a point, that’s not something that you must take for granted,” the man nicknamed the “Jozi Bulldozer” said.
“But obviously, a win is a bonus.
“The home stretch toward the top eight is hugely important for us, but we know that it won’t be easy because there are a bunch of teams as desperate as we are.
“So, the upcoming games, including the game this one in Glasgow on Saturday, are really important for us as a union and franchise.
“We need to try and get points against a Warriors team that’s in the top two.
“We know it’ll be competitive, but you can see how the log is shaping up.
“One loss can take you down to 13th or 14th, so it’s really tight at the moment. You can’t afford to drop points.”
Down to business in Glasgow.
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Ntlabakanye said that the Lions’ goals have evolved over the course of the season.
“At the start of the season, it was our goal to score as many tries as possible or at least four, so that we could get bonus points.
“But obviously, along the way, you notice that games are not going according to plan.
“But we are where we are now, which is not that bad.
“The teams competing against us are also contesting for the position that we want. It’s not a good or a bad position... let’s put it like that.”
Lions Team
15 Quan Horn 14 Richard Kriel 13 Manuel Rass 12 Marius Louw 11 Edwill van der Merwe 10 Gianni Lombard 9 Nico Steyn 8 Francke Horn (captain) 7 Ruan Venter 6 JC Pretorius 5 Darrien Landsberg 4 Ruben Schoeman 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 2 PJ Botha 1 Juan Schoeman.
Bench: 16 Franco Marais 17 SJ Kotze 18 RF Schoeman 19 Ruan Delport 20 Siba Qoma 21 Layton Horn 22 Jarod Cairns 23 Rynhardt Jonker.