Lions and Cheetahs face Euro opposition in Challenge Cup

FILE PHOTO: Rugby Player holds a ball during a line out

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The Lions face in-form Montpellier away in round three of the Challenge Cup on Saturday, a team they lost to a year ago.

Montpellier head up group 2 with two wins, while the Lions are fourth with one win.

The Joburg side will want to stay true to their style of play, and draw strength from a second round win over another French team, Pau.

Game day -1 ⏳#MONvLIO #ForOurCity #ChallengeCupRugby #LionsPride pic.twitter.com/vcYH1tqUTP

— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) January 10, 2025

Winger Edwill van der Merwe says the Lions have studied up on Montpellier, a team also coming off a big win in round two over the Ospreys.

“We have done our analysis and they are quite a physical team, big forwards and they are a team who love attacking, so we expect a running game from them. But they are also quite well balanced with their kicking game as well. So well rounded team, very well coached So it will be a good challenge for us and for us as a team it is getting back to winning ways so that will be the focus for this weekend.”

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs have not played any competitive rugby since the middle of December.

They drew with Perpignan in the first round of the Challenge Cup, and lost to Cardiff most recently.

They will host Zebre of Italy in Amsterdam on Sunday, a team that has not won a match in four outings.

Cheetahs’ captain Victor Sekekete says his side is lacking the killer instinct at the moment, despite being competitive.

“One of the biggest things is us taking the points we have to score when we get there. We created a lot of opportunities but we didn’t get over the line, so I think our biggest learning from the Perpignan game and the Cardiff one is that we need to score tries so that it is easier for the team.”