Lions go into Cardiff clash in search of consistency as well as a first-ever URC play-off spot

In keeping with their reputation as a bunch whose main claim to fame is chasing lost causes, almost as much as it plays rugby for a living, the Lions aren't entirely sold on the idea that their play-off hopes in the United Rugby Championship (URC) went up in smoke with their defeat to Munster.

Having been rope-a-doped into a frustrating 33-13 defeat by defending champions Munster - who did the rugby equivalent of playing the entire match in the clinch and undid all the Lions' sensational work in beating Leinster the week before - the Johannesburg franchise finds itself in 11th place on the table with three round-robin matches remaining, exactly five points below the last team in the knockout places, eighth-placed Benetton.

With a points difference of 89 to Benetton's six, there's method to the Lions seemingly mad thought processes, but the presence of Edinburgh and the Ospreys between them and the Italian side suggests a fair bit of snakes and ladders will take place over the next three rounds before the final play-off spot is decided.