Lions have grown in local URC derbies, says coach Van Rooyen

The Lions face a tough final encounter in their four-match local URC derby run when they take on the in-form Stormers at Ellis Park at 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

It has been a difficult period for the home side, losing all three of their previous matches, at home against the Sharks and Bulls and away against the Bulls this past weekend, while the Stormers have gone unbeaten during that time.

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen believes they have shown good growth over the past few weeks and that they have had a good week of training and are ready to face the tough Stormers challenge.

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“We had excellent patches against the Sharks but we weren’t consistent enough over the 80 minutes, and then everyone knows we weren’t happy with the performance against the Bulls here,” Van Rooyen said.

“Apart from two or three vital instances in the second game against the Bulls, I think we were a lot better, so I think over the last three weeks there has been a lot of growth and a lot of reflection.

“There is a lot of honesty on where we are and where we need to improve, and there is a massive hunger from the guys to keep on improving and working hard.”

Lions captain Jaco Kriel hopes to see a much better performance in the set pieces in their clash with the Stormers, while also matching up against them physically.

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“Over the last two weeks we haven’t been that happy with our scrums and lineouts, so a lot of hard work has gone into that,” Kriel said.

“We know the Stormers have got a strong pack and an x-factor backline, so to pin something on them is going to be difficult.

“We are just going to have to be physical the whole match and stick to what we need to do, and the rest should look after itself.”

The Lions are boosted by the return of a number of their own x-factor players, with flank Vincent Tshituka drafted straight into the starting line-up and flyhalf prodigy Jordan Hendrikse on the bench after returning from his long-term injury.

With the SA URC teams having a break next weekend before travelling overseas for their next round of games, all the teams will be eager to pick up a morale boosting result this weekend.