Lions have lots of work to do

If losing their first two games wasn't bad enough, Lions boss Johan Ackermann now has to work miracles to get his players' confidence up. Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images

If losing their first two games wasn't bad enough, Lions boss Johan Ackermann now has to work miracles to get his players' confidence up. Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images

Published Feb 24, 2015

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If losing their first two games wasn’t bad enough, Lions boss Johan Ackermann now has to work miracles to get his players’ confidence up.

Ackermann admits his players’ self-belief has taken a knock following defeats against the Hurricanes and the Sharks, which has left them at the bottom of the Super Rugby log.

And, this weekend, the red-hot Stormers, who’ve gone two from two and lead the table, visit Emirates Airline Park.

After that, the Lions board a plane to Australasia for four tough matches – against the Blues, Crusaders, Rebels and Reds.

“Rugby is a confidence game and losing in Durban, the way we did, wasn’t good for us,” said Ackermann yesterday.

But it wasn’t just the defeat that is concerning the coach, but the manner of it.

In round one, the Lions outplayed the Hurricanes, but failed to convert their chances; on Saturday in Durban they were simply out-played.

Most worrying was how easily the Lions were dominated in the scrums – an area where they lead the statistics in the whole competition last year.

Also, they created very few try-scoring chances. The Sharks, however, scored four tries.

“Maybe we were complacent about our scrum,” said Ackermann.

“Everything went well in week one, but the Sharks were also desperate and it showed.

“We went out of our systems and the first time we tried to run the ball we lost it and they scored.

“There were too many soft moments again and it cost us.

“But also, our scrums were bad and we didn’t manage to get our driving mauls working.

“There’s a lot of hard work ahead for us this week.

“We have to fix things quickly. The Stormers are without doubt the in-form team at the moment.

“They’ve got a big pack; their scrums are working well and they’re driving well. And, at the back they’ve got players with a lot of X-factor.

“They’ll come to us brimming with confidence.”

With this weekend’s match the Lions’ last before their trip to Australasia, Ackermann is considering giving a few fringe players an opportunity to stake a claim for a place on the plane.

“There are some guys who’ve looked good at training for some time now so I’m definitely thinking of looking at them. I need to know who I can take on tour ... form is what I look at when I pick a side so reputation will count for little in the coming week,” said Ackermann.

There could then be a number of changes to the side. It seems almost certain that out of form flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff will trade places with Elton Jantjies, while up front there could also be a rotation in the front row and second row.

Ackermann will name his line-up on Thursday. - The Star

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