Lions got plenty right in break-out URC campaign that signals promising future

Lions flyhalf Chris Smith has emerged as their on-field general this season, driving them toi the URC play-offs for the first time.

The Lions’ United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign did not end with the bang they anticipated after a 59-10 humbling in Dublin at the hands of Leinster, but as the dust settles, we see a team heading in the right direction.

We look at five positives that stood out after a season in which the Lions made the URC playoffs for the first time.

Winning the SA Shield is a good omen.

In the three years that the Lions contested the Super Rugby final, they were also the SA Shield winners, so there is a positive pattern developing. For the South African teams in the URC, the local derbies are the most fiercely contested matches of the season.