Falcons to trip a big dog?
2008-09-04 22:27
Jaco van der Merwe
Johannesburg - The Falcons could possibly have a last shot at tripping up a big dog in the Currie Cup series when they meet the Lions in Brakpan on Friday night.
The Lions are the only side among the big five in the series who have not benefited by the release of the Springboks.
That is why the home side can at least grant themselves a chance.
The prospect of tackling Western Province, the Sharks, the Cheetahs and the Blue Bulls with their returning Springboks in their last four matches will have far less appeal for the Falcons. They will have to win at least one of those five games if they want to avoid the play-offs at the end of the series.
The Falcons (13 points) are involved in a grim struggle against Griquas (14 points) and the Boland Cavaliers (13) to finish sixth and thereby automatically qualify for next season's Currie Cup series.
If the Falcons do not beat the Lions, and Griquas emerge as victors against the Cavaliers in Kimberley on Saturday, it will be difficult to catch Griquas.
"It will help us if the Kimberley match ends in a draw. If it doesn't, we will need about 10 points in our last five games to try and escape the play-off matches," said Falcons coach Rudy Joubert.
"Because the other teams' Boks have returned and we performed well against the Lions in our first clash, we see this match as one we could possibly win. With a little bit of luck we could have beaten the Lions on their home ground before.
"But we aren't setting too much store by what happened in that game. We know it will be an enormous task to beat the Lions. After all, they recently defeated the Blue Bulls."
The Lions will be able to maintain the daylight between themselves and Western Province on the log if they collect maximum five points and remain strong contenders in the race for a place in the semifinals.