Lions stun Benetton with 18-minute blitzkrieg for magnificent comeback win in Treviso

Whether they have full confidence in the coaching staff and the executive is a matter of much intrigue and tension in Doornfontein, but there's a mounting body of evidence that the Lions players have full faith in their own abilities and a cheery (if wayward) brand of optimism.

In orchestrating a thrilling 32-28 comeback victory over a shell-shocked Benetton in Treviso on Saturday afternoon, they've now embarked on a three-match winning streak in the URC, which feels totally counterintuitive given continued reports of discord behind the scenes.

Tellingly, the Lions have suddenly jumped to ninth in the standings and might just dream of Champions Cup qualification next season.

Ivan van Rooyen's charges definitely required their peculiar yet compelling way of motivating themselves because, with just 18 minutes left on the clock, they were staring a deflating defeat squarely in the face, down 13-28.

There had been the consolation of surviving Sanele Nohamba's yellow card for a deliberate knock-down in Benetton's red zone - he didn't even remotely protest the decision - in the 48th minute without conceding any points, but appeared out of the contest when, ironically, replacement home hooker Henry Time-Stowers cheekily surged through an attacking lineout without a hand being put on him.

That was Benetton's fourth try and a bonus point, a sequence indicative up to that point of just how badly the Lions were let down by their bouts of sheer carelessness on defence.

It had been the case twice in the first half too, where Argentina sevens star Joaquin Riera - operating at outside centre - coasted through a yawning gap left by JP Smith and Emmanuel Tshituka, who were expecting of each other to mark the playmaker, before nippy Jacob