{"id":3060,"date":"2025-04-16T13:32:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T11:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=3060"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:42:18","slug":"barend-pieterse-urges-lions-to-find-consistency-in-urc-playoff-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/barend-pieterse-urges-lions-to-find-consistency-in-urc-playoff-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Barend Pieterse Urges Lions to Find Consistency in URC Playoff Push"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) edges closer to its climax, Lions lineout coach Barend Pieterse has issued a rallying call for his team to find the consistency needed to break into the top eight. The Joburg-based side, who started the season on a high, are now in a precarious position as they aim to qualify for the URC playoffs for the first time in four attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also read<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/gauteng-rugby-stadiums-where-the-action-happens-for-top-local-teams\/\">Gauteng Rugby Stadiums: Where the Action Happens for Top Local Teams<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Lions roared into the 2024 campaign with four straight wins, suggesting a promising season ahead. However, since that flying start, they\u2019ve only managed two more victories, suffering eight defeats along the way. Particularly damaging were their recent losses on tour in Europe, narrowly losing 20-17 to Cardiff before being comprehensively outplayed 42-0 by Glasgow. Those setbacks saw the team tumble from eighth to 14th on the log, now trailing the playoff spots by six points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-barend-pieterse-we-lack-consistency\"><strong>Barend Pieterse: \u201cWe Lack Consistency\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pieterse believes the team\u2019s struggle boils down to one key issue \u2014 inconsistency. \u201cWe\u2019re not consistent enough,\u201d he told News24. \u201cThere\u2019s a cycle of three solid games, two poor ones, a mediocre one, then another good performance followed by more bad ones. That pattern has hurt our momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-142978155\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-crucial-home-run-ahead\"><strong>Crucial Home Run Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sarugbymag.co.za\/small-mistakes-cost-inconsistent-lions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Lions<\/a> are entering a crucial stretch \u2014 four consecutive home fixtures that could define their season. They\u2019ll face Italian outfit Benetton this Saturday, followed by Irish challengers Connacht, then the Scarlets and Ospreys from Wales. Winning all four may be the only path to a playoff berth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-youthful-experience-and-costly-errors\"><strong>Youthful Experience and Costly Errors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the youth in the squad, Pieterse points out that many players have enough URC experience under their belts. \u201cIt\u2019s not that we don\u2019t have seasoned campaigners. Several of our younger guys have played 50 or 60 URC matches. But we\u2019re guilty of small mistakes at key moments \u2014 losing the ball in the opposition 22, and suddenly the other team scores. These are things we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2098326628\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-injuries-and-depth-an-ongoing-challenge\"><strong>Injuries and Depth an Ongoing Challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Injuries and limited squad depth have also added to the Lions&#8217; woes. Key players like Ruan Venter and Henco van Wyk have struggled with short-term injuries that disrupt the team\u2019s rhythm. \u201cRuan will play a couple of matches, then pick up a knock and miss a month. It\u2019s the same with Henco. We get close, then we lose key guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-no-excuses-just-responsibility\"><strong>No Excuses, Just Responsibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pieterse acknowledges that while teams like the Bulls, Sharks, and Stormers have deeper squads, that can\u2019t be used as an excuse. \u201cIt does make a difference, but consistency isn\u2019t about excuses. As coaches and players, we must step up and perform better every week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-531009945\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-final-push-for-a-playoff-spot\"><strong>Final Push for a Playoff Spot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the Pride playing their remaining fixtures at home, the pressure is on to deliver. Whether they can find the rhythm they showed early in the season and keep their playoff hopes alive remains to be seen. But one thing is clear \u2014 consistency is the only currency that will matter in the Lions\u2019 hunt for URC glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also read<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-book-a-stadium-in-gauteng\/\">How Much Does It Really Cost to Book a Stadium in Gauteng?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) edges closer to its climax, Lions lineout coach Barend Pieterse has issued a rallying call for his team to find the consistency needed to break into the top eight. The Joburg-based side, who started the season on a high, are now in a precarious position as they aim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"As the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) edges closer to its climax, Lions lineout coach Barend Pieterse has issued a rallying call for his team to find...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[785,414,415,784],"class_list":{"0":"post-3060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-lions","10":"tag-rugby-games","11":"tag-sa-rugby","12":"tag-urc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3060"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3062,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3060\/revisions\/3062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}