Ospreys loss not a wakeup call ahead of crunch Bulls clash — Ivan van Rooyen

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen does not believe that their disappointing Challenge Cup loss against Ospreys at Ellis Park over the past weekend is a wakeup call ahead of a crunch United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against the Bulls at Loftus on Saturday.

The Lions started the New Year with their fifth straight win in all competitions, beating the Sharks in Durban, but have since lost their two Challenge Cup games, against Montpellier in France and this past weekend going down 38-28 to Ospreys back at home.

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It is thus a bit worrying considering their next two games are in the URC against the Bulls, first at Loftus and then at Ellis Park, and both will be extremely tough clashes against an in-form team.

Positive noise

A lot of positive noise had been made about the Lions season after the Sharks game, but having lost two in a row, including at home in a game they were favourites for against a team they had not lost to yet, Van Rooyen was rightly asked after the match if it was a much needed wakeup for his side.

“To be honest it’s not a wakeup call before the Bulls game because I have no doubt that we will be ready for the match. I think you could say it is a wakeup call in terms of us not expecting to just go through the motions,” explained Van Rooyen.

“We play a high performance sport, every team that we play against wants to beat us and we have to understand that a game at an iconic stadium like this (Ellis Park) is going to lift any opponent’s performance.

“So I would rather say it is a wakeup call for us to get our systems going and to be more consistent going forward.”

Late show

The Lions had sent a weakened team to France for their clash against Montpellier, while their first stringers stayed at home and were fresh for the Ospreys match, but it was a late show from the visitors that stunned the home side.

Having led 18-14 at halftime and then taken a 28-17 lead into the final 10 minutes the Lions were then shocked as Ospreys ran in three converted tries in the dying moments to seal an unexpected come from behind win.

The Lions will have to quickly shake that off and make sure that they are back to 100% by Saturday if they want to stand any chance of upsetting the Bulls at their home fortress.

“This was our first home game of the year, after two away games, so we really wanted to put in a good performance for the crowd. That was a little bit disappointing,” said Van Rooyen.

“But we have an opportunity to fix it against the Bulls. We have to take some good lessons from the game, quickly get over the result emotionally and get the bodies ready for Saturday.”