Read more
'Where we are currently, I am very frustrated as I’m sitting here, but if you take the emotion away we are really excited with where we are.'
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen says his side have improved in their movement, decision-making and kicking game in recent months. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said putting aside the heartbreak of their final United Rugby Championship (URC) local derby loss against the Sharks, his side have improved “immensely” in recent months, and especially since the start of their string of local derbies.
Captain Francke Horn echoed these sentiments as the Johannesburg outfit prepare for their final six league games in the URC, starting with Cardiff in Wales on 21 March.
The Lions earned a losing bonus point against the Sharks in their final local derby on Saturday, coming up on the short end of a 25–22 nail-biter that Horn said could have gone either way even though the Lions missed star players Ruan Venter, Quan Horn and Henco van Wyk due to injury.
The result meant the Sharks won their first SA shield since South African teams joined the URC in the 2020/21 season.
Lions clawing their way up
The Lions, meanwhile, finished bottom of the pile for the third time in four seasons. However, their losing bonus point brought them up to eighth on the overall log from where they can qualify for the Champions Cup for the first time if they hold on.
“At least we got the one point. We would have loved four to five points to get higher up but we are now in the mix,” Horn said.
Since their 28–5 drubbing by Montpellier in France on 11 January, the Lions have enjoyed some good results.
They had a big win over Dragons (final score 60–10) at home before two more against the Stormers and Sharks.
Even in their three defeats (against the Bulls twice and Sharks once), the Lions recorded scores of 22, 19 and 22.
They have no shortage of skill in attack and confidence to match, time and again receiving praise from opposition opponents like Sharks head coach John Plumtree.
Coach Van Rooyen excited about where they are
“Our work rate has improved immensely,” Lions coach Van Rooyen said.
“When we manage to keep the ball, our attack can threaten you. I think our movement and decision-making in defence is better.”
He said the Lions showed in their solid 38–14 win over the Sharks in Johannesburg the week before, that they had also learned how to exploit the kicking game.
“Where we are currently, I am very frustrated as I’m sitting here, but if you take the emotion away we are really excited with where we are.”
He said the increase in energy the Lions showed to retake the lead against the Sharks in the second half showed they were on the right path and have grown in the last month or two.
“We’ve got six URC games left to make it happen for us.”
Download our app
