Lions finally find their groove against Zebre after tough URC start

The Lions finally managed to find their groove after a tough start to their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign, as they thrashed Zebre 61-19 in their clash at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions went into the match against their Italian visitors having just won once in five games, but had played well in all their matches, losing four by seven points or less to pick up losing bonus points.

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That also included a difficult four-week European tour where they claimed their first win of the season, a massively tight 24-23 win over Scarlets in Wales.

Statement win

So on their return home the Lions were looking for a statement win to announce themselves in the competition, and they managed that in style as they ran in nine tries to just three from the visitors for a thumping win.

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen was a happy man after the match, admitting that his side had played well enough to win all their games so far.

“The irony is we felt we have played well in all five games, six now, and it was just small moments and momentum swings that cost us in those previous games,” said Van Rooyen.

“It’s been a tough week in terms of travel (back from Europe), coming back to 35 degrees (from cold Irish conditions), and seeing a performance like that makes you proud.”

Where the Lions improved against Zebre from their previous performances this season was being a lot more ruthless with their chances created and taking a good early lead to build scoreboard pressure.

They raced into a 19-0 lead inside the opening 16 minutes and had wrapped up the bonus point by the 29^th, before powering away in the second half to a confidence boosting win.

“The performances have been good enough to get points early on (this season), unfortunately we weren’t able to. But I think the last two, three games it’s a lot better from us in terms of constant pressure, but also converting that into points,” explained Van Rooyen.

“It has been a work-on (finishing in the red zone) and instead of chasing your tail for the last 20, 30 minutes it was nice being on the other side.

“We’re a good team when we stick to our processes and we did that well today, and within that comes the freedom (to play confidently).”

Great opportunity

Looking ahead the Lions have a great opportunity to get another good win when they host Welsh side Dragons this coming weekend, but Van Rooyen said they wouldn’t be underestimating their opponents.

It will also be an important game to build more good momentum from as they then head into the Challenge Cup competition where they travel to France to play Perpignan, before returning home to host the Newcastle Falcons.

“We are under no illusions about how tough this competition is. Even Zebre, they are a much better team than last season,” said Van Rooyen.

“On Thursday and Friday (this past week) we as coaches spent a lot of time looking ahead to Dragons. They are a tough team in terms of how they keep on fighting. They also have a good kicking game and solid set piece.

“So the focus from our side will be to keep on building momentum and keep on working on consistency, whether it’s execution or pressure or mentally just being able to replicate (a similar performance from what they produced against Zebre).”