Break gives Lions a chance for self-reflection, says Nkosi

The Lions have plenty of work to do over their month-long break, coach Mziwakhe Nkosi admits, ahead of their next Currie Cup match against the Sharks on February 19.

The next round of fixtures is on February 2, but the Lions have their first bye, meaning they have plenty of time to fix the problems from their record breaking 50-9 loss to the Pumas at Ellis Park earlier this week.

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“We have a hell of a lot of work to do and we need to have a period of self reflection,” said a disappointed Nkosi.

“In terms of game specifics, as good as our set piece was last week (against Western Province), we had a lot of miscommunication this week, so we have to fix that.

“We also have to fix our urgency. I felt we were lethargic and cumbersome in the manner in which we played, so we have to be a whole lot more urgent in the way we play if we want to test opposition teams.”

Against the Pumas, the Lions made a host of errors, gave away plenty of penalties and watched their defensive line get breached time and time again as the Pumas ran rampant, scoring seven tries while conceding none away from home.

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“We didn’t acquit ourselves well at all and we fell away there in the end. It definitely wasn’t our best outing,” Nkosi said.

“We were very inaccurate and the more inaccurate we became the more errors we made, and it sucked the energy out of us. It then became difficult to come back.”

In other results on Wednesday, the Bulls romped to a 40-21 win over a battling Western Province, who fought back at the death, while the Sharks managed to hold on for a tight 24-23 victory over Griquas.

The Bulls now top the early Currie Cup standings with two bonus-point wins, while the Sharks and Free State have won their only encounters, the Pumas and Western Province have won one and lost one, and the Lions and Griquas have lost both their games.

Next round of fixtures (Wednesday, 2 February)

Griquas v Pumas (3:30pm)

Bulls v Free State (5:45pm)

Sharks v Western Province (8pm)