Now it’s all good and well for teams to want to play exciting, running rugby, but like most coaches will tell you, you’ve first got to earn the right to have a crack at the opposition.
Because, as we saw with the Lions at the weekend, it helps little if you’re able and willing to fling the ball around among the backs, but basically go nowhere. Johan Ackermann’s team dominated all areas of the game against the Hurricanes, but they didn’t get the points on the board when they had the opportunity to do so and it cost them dearly.
As was the case with the Lions in last season’s Currie Cup final against WP at Newlands, Ackermann’s men more than had their fair share of possession and territory in that game, yet they failed to turn their dominance, and the pressure they put on Province, into points.
Unfortunately, the man who did so much damage for the Lions last year, Marnitz Boshoff, failed to deliver the goods on the biggest stage at Newlands and again on Saturday his trusty boot let him down. A prolific goal-kicker, someone who says he doesn’t feel the pressure because he’s been kicking from a young age, will now, almost surely, be feeling the pressure.
Boshoff missed two penalties inside 10 minutes against the Hurricanes and then also failed to convert in the 18th minute. Had those kicks gone over, before the Canes had even ventured into Lions territory, the game could have turned out so differently. And it would have been even better had Elton Jantjies converted Ruan Combrinck’s 23rd minute try; it would have been 16-3 for the Lions just after midway through the first half, had all the kicks gone over.
That would have made it a completely different game, with the pressure all on the visitors. The missed kicks put all the pressure on the Lions, and after 80 minutes they’d suffered their first loss of the campaign.
It should be applauded that Ackermann backs his players to express themselves on the field, to play with freedom, on gut and instinct, but being clinical is equally important. We should not forget how crucial the role is of the kicker in a team and right now Boshoff needs to find his form, and quickly.
For all the positivity in the Lions’ approach to the game – and boy, they’re a joy to watch at times – they’re still very reliant on Boshoff and Co kicking the points. If they don’t, then all the good work they put into their effort comes to very little. And that just isn’t a true reflection of the quality of rugby this Lions teams can produce. One of the Lions’ major strengths in 2014 was their goal-kicking; it has, however, become a weakness in their last two competitive matches. It’s cost them big-time and the fans can only hope Boshoff and Co start hitting the target soon. - The Star