The Golden Lions will be playing in their 'Currie Cup Final' when they tackle the table-topping Western Province outfit in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Despite having already lost out on a place in the play-offs, Lions lock Franco van der Merwe says the season is "far from over" for the men from Johannesburg.

Speaking to iafrica, in a break from preparations for Saturday's showdown, Van der Merwe said it will be a "huge" game.

"From a WP point, they are determined to finish top [of the standings] and have a home Final [if they advance]," he said.

"I also read the other day that they only need 11 000 to reach the half-million [500 000] mark for spectator attendances at their games, which is incredible.

"They already have a home semifinal and they will look to add the Final to that, so no doubt they will come [at us] with everything they have got," Van der Merwe told iafrica .

With the Sharks playing Griquas and a realistic chance of collecting five points in Kimberley, it will mean the Province also need a fullhouse of five points in Johannesburg to retain first place on the standings.

"They certainly have a lot to play for," Van der Merwe said of WP, adding: "But the season is far from over for us.

"This is our Final, it is our last game of the year.

"We also play them [the Stormers/WP] first in the Super 14 next year, at home, so we can strike a psychological blow.

"We certainly won't be handing the game to them on a plate."

The big second row forward, who played his 50th game for the Lions in the 17-19 loss to the Sharks in Durban last week, has described his stint in Johannesburg as "great", despite all the coaching upheavals of the year.

"It would have been great to pull off the win [in Durban], but it wasn't to be."

He said the Lions would not have been out of place in the Currie Cup semifinals, but a lack of consistency throughout the season cost them.

"We've have plenty of ups-and-downs and probably put too much pressure on ourselves to try and get through in the latter stages of the competition," he said.

"By the time we got to the Sharks game last week we were in a 'must-win' situation and that was not ideal.

"There were certain games earlier in the season which we should have won, but lost.

"There were also times that we played brilliant rugby, such as our win against the Bulls.

"But we also had a few slips, where we just didn't step up to the plate. We can look at the game against Griquas in Kimberley - we raced into an early lead with a few quick tries and then right at the end we had that drive that many felt was a legitimate try. In fact, if we won the two games against Griquas [19-23 and 31-36 defeats], we would have been in the play-offs."

While the Lions had a roller coaster ride with their on-field results, it is off the field where Van der Merwe feels most progress have been made.

"Off the field a lot of good has happened," he told iafrica .

"Even though we haven't reached the semis, there is a very positive vibe and everybody is upbeat about the developments and the future.

"We all know what happened earlier," he said of the axing of Eugene Eloff, the decision to employ Jake White's Winning Ways company and the appointment of Hans Coetzee as interim coach.

"When the [Currie Cup] season started, I didn't even know half the guys - with players coming from other unions, new players and a lot of senior guys who left for overseas and other unions," he said in reference to the mass exodus in June.

Apart from Springbok Jaque Fourie, who was involved in the internationals and is also at the centre of a tug-of-war between the Lions and Western Province, a host of players have left or are leaving the union.

They include Gerhard Mostert (Sharks), Anton van Zyl (Western Province), Dewald Senekal (Toulon, France), Cobus Grobler (Dax, France), Jannes Labuschagne (out injured, contemplating retirement again), Andre Pretorius (Western Force), Willie Wepener (Clermont, France), Ernst Joubert (Saracens, England) and Ethienne Reynecke (Saracens, England).

Injuries have also robbed the Lions of the services of Heinke van der Merwe, Gert Muller, Jano Vermaak, Louis Ludik, Alwyn Hollenbach, Dusty Noble, Earl Lewis, Henno Mentz and Derek Harwood at various stages this season.

"It was certainly a big challenge at the start of the season, but look where we are now - how the guys have bonded and how we are gelling as a team.

"On the field we made steady progress, despite those ups-and-downs, and there is a really good vibe in this team," he said, adding that reaching the play-offs was a "realistic" dream that wasn't beyond their capabilities.

"We just had a few hiccups along the way," he concluded.