'They Punch Right Above Their Weight.' Lions Vs. Edinburgh Rugby Preview
'They Punch Right Above Their Weight.' Lions Vs. Edinburgh Rugby Preview
The Emirates Lions welcome Edinburgh Rugby to Johannesburg for a United Rugby Championship Round 3 match.
Former Springboks star Breyton Paulse has tipped the Emirates Lions to be the surprise package of the URC this season.
The team from Johannesburg certainly has made an impressive start to the campaign, playing some sparkling rugby during a 35-22 bonus point victory over Ulster Rugby.
Now, they play host to Edinburgh Rugby, with 64-cap winger Paulse expecting big things from them.
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“I think a team who is maybe going to surprise a few people will be the Lions,” he said. “They punch right above their weight and those guys play for each other.
“It’s like the old days. It’s a bunch of guys who are good friends and they get together and go out on the pitch.
“It’s all a question of whether they can get the consistency right. Last season, they were so good one week and so bad the next, but I just feel they have learned a lot and I do feel they are going to surprise a lot of the heavyweights of the URC.”
Edinburgh are looking for their first win of the season after two narrow defeats - 33-31 at home to Leinster and 22-16 away to the Bulls.
Lions skipper Francke Horn, who scored one of the five tries against Ulster, said: “It’s our last home game for a while, so we are really looking forward to putting in a good performance before we go on a three-week tour.
“Obviously, Edinburgh narrowly lost against the Bulls, so they would feel they are in for the money this weekend.
“So it’s going to be a really tough, but exciting game.”
Credit United Rugby Championship
URC Rugby Schedule For Round 3 Fixtures
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URC Rugby Fixtures Friday, Oct. 4
URC Rugby Fixtures Saturday, Oct. 5
- 7:45 a.m. ET - Lions vs Edinburgh
- 10 a.m. ET - Vodacom Bulls vs Ulster
- 12:15 p.m. ET - Dragons vs Sharks
- 12:15 p.m. ET - Benetton vs Leinster
- 2:35 p.m. ET - Zebre Parma vs DHL Stormers
- 2:35 p.m. ET - Munster vs Ospreys
URC Standings Table After Round 2
Rank | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Pts Diff | Bonus | Points |
1 | Leinster Rugby | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 37 | 30 | 2 | 10 |
2 | Cardiff Rugby | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 32 | 14 | 2 | 10 |
3 | Connacht Rugby | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 69 | 65 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
4 | Glasgow Rugby | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 30 | 31 | 2 | 6 |
5 | Ospreys | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 47 | 11 | 2 | 6 |
6 | Zebre Parma | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 55 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
7 | Munster Rugby | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 75 | -7 | 2 | 6 |
8 | Emirates Lions | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 5 |
9 | Ulster Rugby | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 54 | -12 | 1 | 5 |
10 | Vodacom Bulls | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
11 | Dragons RFC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 55 | -26 | 0 | 4 |
12 | Edinburgh Rugby | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 55 | -8 | 3 | 3 |
13 | Scarlets | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 0 | 2 |
14 | Benetton Rugby | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 62 | -32 | 0 | 2 |
15 | Hollywoodbets Sharks | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 36 | -6 | 1 | 1 |
16 | DHL Stormers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 37 | -13 | 0 | 0 |
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