‘We didn’t adapt quickly enough to tricky Cardiff conditions,’ says Lions boss

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen claimed his side were unable to adapt to the tricky weather conditions quickly enough, leading to their tight 20-17 United Rugby Championship (URC) defeat against Cardiff at Arms Park in Wales on Friday night.

The Lions were their own worst enemy however, botching a slew of opportunities over a game they completely dominated on the stats, but not on the final scoreline.

The Lions finished the match with 64% possession and 61% territory, while they only made 83 tackles, while forcing Cardiff to make a massive 229, with them constantly under pressure.

But the effectiveness of their attack is where they flopped as despite making 165 ball carries and 203 passes, to just 71 carries and 93 passes from the hosts, the Lions only managed to gain 326 metres to 362 from Cardiff.

Van Rooyen zeroed in on their struggles to retain the ball in the air, as one of the key reasons for them not being as effective on the counter-attack as the hosts.

“They probably played the wind a little bit better than us. A couple of their kicks into the wind fell short and we didn’t manage to catch them out of the air. That gave them double possession and then they could kick again,” explained Van Rooyen.

“We didn’t adapt quick enough when we were against the wind, and tactically that worked for them. So we are obviously disappointed with that. Not having the ability to catch the ball and launch an attack or another kicking set onto them.

“You could see with it being wet, cold and windy, possession wasn’t always the answer. Territory was probably more important. I think we lost that in the bigger picture at the end of the day.”

Strong set piece

The Lions set piece was however in good form, with them dominating at scrum time in the first half, but they came under a bit of pressure in the second, while their lineout was unblemished over the match.

They also put in a solid defence effort overall, but disappointingly allowed Cardiff in for their first try from their first visit to the Lions 22m, while their second score was from an intercept.

“Our set piece went forward. When we were a little bit more dynamic on attack we looked good. I was disappointed with the try they scored (in the first half). Tt was too easy, and it wasn’t good enough defence from us.

“But generally I thought the defence was decent. It’s always tough playing away from home in these conditions and we didn’t adapt quickly enough.”

Italian ref Federico Vedovelli also made a number of contentious decisions over the match that cost the Lions, including giving flyhalf Gianni Lombard a yellow card in the 73^rd minute for a deliberate knock on when replays showed it was clearly accidental while trying to tackle.

The Lions players also seem bemused at the fulltime hooter when Vedovelli called their attempt to score held up over the line to end the match, without checking with the TMO whether there was a grounding.

“There were a couple of interesting decisions (that went against us), so we are disappointed not to walk away with four points,” added Van Rooyen.