No major concerns, Lions insist, after shaking off the rust

Captain Elton Jantjies doesn’t believe the Lions have “massive problems” to deal with, despite going down 34-21 to the Stormers in their SuperFan Saturday friendly at Loftus at the weekend.

The Lions scrum was put to the task, which must be a real concern for the squad, but the energy they showed in the second half to almost turn the tables was a good sign.

“What was positive was the character of the boys,” Jantjies said.

“When we fell behind it was important to stick to what we learned in training, and we scored a few tries in the second half.

“There are definitely some things to work on, but I don’t see massive problem areas, and I’m very excited about the young players who came on.”

Prop Carlu Sadie, scrumhalf Dillon Smit, flyhalf Gianni Lombard and flank MJ Pelser led the charge, providing new energy for the Lions after they trailed 27-7 early in the second half.

They took the fight to the Stormers and closed the gap to 27-21 before a disallowed Lombard try (due to crossing) prevented the Lions from taking a surprise lead late in the game.

Lions coach Cash van Rooyen admitted they needed to do some polishing in order to find their best form, as local teams shook off the rust after a six-month hiatus.

“Clearly the set-piece still needs a bit of work. The Stormers managed to put us under pressure at scrum-time,” Van Rooyen said.

“But when we managed to hold on to the ball and started to build a few phases, we created one or two nice opportunities.”

There was no doubt the shape of the game changed in the second half, according to Stormers coach John Dobson, with the Lions having 15 players on the bench while the Stormers had 11.

“We were under a bit of pressure in the second half when we got tired and they brought on a new team,” Dobson said.

“But to get a result at altitude against a really quality team like the Lions was a good start for us.”

With his squad boasting some Bok stars, Dobson said it was important to give them a run while managing all their players ahead of upcoming local and international campaigns.

“Our defence in both halves was really good, so there’s a lot for us to be hopeful about,” he said.

“I don’t think it has been since primary school that we haven’t played for six months, so not too much should be read into this. It was exhausting but important not to pick up injuries.”

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