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Cape Town - Lions coach Swys de Bruin believes their win over the Highlanders at Ellis Park could be the turning point in their season.
The 38-29 win saw the Lions leapfrog the Sharks in third position in the South African conference and got them within two points of the Bulls and Jaguares.
It was an entertaining encounter which saw both sides score five tries but it was the accurate boot of flyhalf Elton Jantjies that proved the difference.
"Plan-wise - what we want to do and the way we want to play - this was the closest we've come (this season), if you can take away the soft tries that we conceded. This is a good Highlanders team and they came at us hard, so I was very happy with what I saw from my team," De Bruin told reporters at Ellis Park.
"It's not just about winning for us, but when you do get a win like this it brings a lot confidence and this came at the right time. We face the Sharks down in Durban next week. We got such a hammering against them last, I can’t even remember the exact score, I just know the score was huge," he added, referring to the 42-5 home loss to the Sharks earlier in the season.
De Bruin also heaped praise on his pivot Jantjies.
"Being the professional that he is, Elton spent so much time this week practicing his kicking and the extra work that he puts in pays off."
Saturday's Sharks v Lions clash at Kings Park is scheduled for 17:15.
