Ahead of their May 09, 2026 clash against Leinster, Fidelity SecureDrive Lions scrum-half Morné van den Berg expressed confidence that the team is in a strong position to secure a historic United Rugby Championship playoff berth.
Van den Berg was confident that the team had "grown in self-confidence" and matured in its decision-making, allowing them to better handle pressure compared to previous seasons.
“I think we’re at a place where we’re really backing our game, and if we can prove to ourselves that that game is good enough to beat Leinster in Dublin, then we can really back ourselves in the playoffs.”
“We’re going to just take it moment by moment, not get ahead of ourselves this weekend and just really go for it. Now it is our responsibility to go and give it our all.”
Continuing a theme from earlier in the season, Van den Berg reiterated that the squad wants to test themselves against the "best side Leinster can put out," particularly as they look to prove their growth at one of the tournament's most imposing venues and said they need to avoid the lapses that Leinster punished them with in a previous meeting at the Aviva.
“In that game, everything changed when we knocked the ball on in the 22 when we had all the momentum,” he said. “One kick changed the game, and James Lowe kicked almost a 50:22.”