Lions deal with weather delay with aplomb in Sharks win

The Lions showed impressive composure to deal with a lengthy weather delay and difficult conditions to still power their way to an impressive 40-10 win over the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Ellis Park on Saturday.

After a competitive first half that saw the Lions leading 19-10 at the break, a massive storm blew in bringing torrential rain and lightning which led to the start of the second half being delayed by 40 minutes.

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Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen explained that they had to suddenly change up their usual halftime debrief when news of the delay filtered through.

“To be honest, we left the guys all to themselves for at least 20 minutes. We knew the chances of going back onto the field in the usual window were very slim,” said Van Rooyen.

“We were about to start with our normal protocol before we heard the news of the delay, and we then said to each other we’re probably going to have to sit here for a while.

“So, I told them to relax, refuel and rehydrate. After that period, we debriefed on the first half, prepared for the warm-up, and were ready to play. After what we have spoken about over the past two weeks, seeing the guys reaction to that (tricky) situation was really pleasant.”

Completely different conditions

Lions captain Marius Louw said conditions were completely different coming out for the second half, from the dry and sunny conditions that they had started the match in and that they had to play the long game as they got used to things before kicking on towards the end of the match with three late tries.

“Coming (back) out I could actually feel my boots sink into the ground more. It was very wet and the ball was spinning out. So we spoke about focusing on our set piece and that was actually what got us onto the front foot,” explained Louw.

“Conditions were really tough in the beginning (of the second half) and we were really fortunate to get through to the other side.

“It was a little bit of a checkers game in the beginning. You try and look for the space. They were giving us a bit of running room because they were trying to cover the space (in the back field). They were trying to change their pictures as well.

“So we were just making sure to read the situation as it is and to adapt to that and it came off for us in the end.”

Although the Lions stay 11^th on the URC log after the bonus point win, they have brought themselves back into the top eight fight, with them one point off two teams above them and three points off Benetton in eighth.