It will be the Lions biggest game of the campaign thus far and a victory will put them on a five-match unbeaten run.

They did manage to beat the Irish giants 44-12 in Johannesburg in April, but it’s a totally different team they will come up against. The Lions assistant coach and former Springbok Ricardo Loubser said it’s important not to allow Leinster to dictate the tempo.

“If you look at stats, they love a fast start whether it is the first or second half, so they like to put you under scoreboard pressure,” said Loubser.

“So, I think the important thing for us is to start well. The second thing is that you can’t go into this game with the mindset to keep them out defensively. I think they are just good enough to score tries from everywhere.

“The important thing for us is to fire shots. We have to go out and enforce our game onto them from an attack point of view and just in general, just take our game to them. You can’t sit back and allow them to play. If you allow them to play and they get a quick ball, they stay on top of you.

“So, it’s important for us to start well.”

Morné van den Berg. Photo: Morgan Piek

Loubser added that having the round one derbies postponed does help with the teams’ energy levels going into a big game like Leinster.

“You mentioned that South African derbies are traditionally physical and tough. The players, they know exactly and Krappie (Morné van den Berg), will tell you. For 80 minutes, they just go 100% flat out, whether it’s a one-versus-one battle or just as a unit.

“I think the way we started, that’s good for us. So, hopefully, we can keep that momentum coming into the next game.”

Saturday’s game at the iconic Aviva Stadium kicks off at 18:15.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek mvh