Springbok scrumhalf Morné van den Berg struggled to watch the Lions falter in their last two matches, but the nippy nine is ready to spearhead their attack on Friday evening against Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup.
After losing back-to-back tour matches, the Johannesburg side are out for redemption to keep their bid for a European cup alive. They take on Edinburgh at the Hive Stadium (kick-off 9pm) in the Scottish capital and can rectify their “horror” performance of last week against the Glasgow Warriors. It’s a game they couldn’t score any points and lost 42-0.
Van den Berg picked up the Player of the Match award against the Sharks last month. Still, an untimely injury meant he was out for the next two games – important ones where the Lions chased victories to keep them in the run for the United Rugby Championship (URC) playoffs. But they lost both and find themselves on the back foot ahead of the European Round of 16 clash.
“That was a very untimely injury, and I was really disappointed not to play,” Van den Berg said.
“But you also must look at the positive, I had two to three weeks to get my body fresh (for the last part of the season). God’s timing is perfect. I have set myself up to go hard. I am feeling good and confident, so the focus is to serve the team on Friday night.”
Morne van Den Berg ahead of the Round of 16 EPCR Challenge Cup against Edinburgh.#ForOurCity #LionsPride 🦁 pic.twitter.com/R3wPnKpx3u
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) April 1, 2025
Van den Berg said he could properly dissect their last two losses after not being part of it, and they’ve identified the areas to fix. But, it will be important to do that as a unit.
“That loss felt personal,” Van den Berg said about the Glasgow drubbing.
“Each player, if you played or even if you didn’t, you took that loss personally. You took a good look at yourself. Where you are, what does the game mean to you?
I don’t think anybody would say that was good enough or acceptable. This needs a mind shift.
Next assignment... EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16 vs Edinburgh this Friday night.#ForOurCity#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/O1eRQAzCIb
“We can’t go from beating the Sharks three weeks ago to being a bad team and a very, very bad team last weekend. So, we need a total mind shift. We know we are a good team and better than that. There was a lot of reflection, and we are ready to take on the game this week.”
According to Van den Berg, it’s about staying focused ahead of taking on Edinburgh. The Lions have preached about playing a game for 80 to 85 minutes, but their season has been known for some erratic performances when they looked to be in winning positions.
Who makes the quarter-finals and gets one step closer to lifting the #ChallengeCupRugby trophy this weekend? 🤔
Make sure you’re there, get tickets to the Finals weekend at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff now 🎟️ ⬇️
They can’t afford those soft moments anymore, especially playing knockout rugby.
“At stages in the season, we’ve lost focus and leaked in tries at the wrong time in a game.
"Giving away momentum when we worked hard to build it up. It is taking those learnings, looking at yourself as a player and taking the responsibility to stay in the moment and be focused. We must be disciplined and do what the moment asks of us.”