Cape Town - Now is the time to stick together and become more clinical. That was the message from Lions captain Jaco Kriel to his team after their 21-13 United Rugby Championship defeat to the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
While a sixth loss in eight matches sees the Lions in 14th position on the URC log with just 12 points, they showed much more determination in defence, in particular, to stay in the game at a wet Loftus, compared with the previous week’s 34-10 loss at Ellis Park.
Even though they conceded three tries, the Lions managed to disrupt the Bulls’ rhythm on attack, and prevented the Pretoria side from scoring a fourth try for a bonus point.
So, while the Lions are still far from where they would like to be as a team, Kriel was encouraged by the reaction from the players after a few harsh words during the week, and he felt they had enough chances to beat the Bulls.
“It’s never nice to say such things, but it also doesn’t help if you sit in the change-room and lie to each other that it’s this and that,” Kriel said.
“We looked each other in the eye and on Monday, we took the shots in the video sessions, and everybody was singled out who needed to be singled out, and we worked on that.
“I think as a group, if you as a player can’t handle that positive criticism and work on it, then you don’t belong in the professional era.
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“So, we worked really hard on that this (last) week, and looked each other in the eye and said that the scoreboard may not be on our side a few times, and things may not go our way, but one thing that must never be questioned is effort and intent, and I think the guys did really well in this game.”
Coach Ivan van Rooyen also praised the physical effort of his team against a marauding Bulls pack, who made a number of entries into the Lions’ half but coughed up possession.
“I think that is the area (defence) that has grown the most since July. That is why we were so unhappy last week, as we gave them momentum, and then it’s difficult to really stamp your authority on a game,” Van Rooyen said.
“I am not going to say we are happy with conceding three tries, but we can say that intent, the willingness to tackle, the willingness to work hard against a big, physical Bulls team, was considerably better.
“We were able to tackle them back at various stages of the match, which is why we were able to stay in the scrap. So, much better in that regard. It is one of our pillars on which we want to build our path going forward. One thing I cannot say is that the intent wasn’t good, not enough heart, or that we were a bit lazy and looked tired. The guys really stood up.”
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The Lions host the Stormers at Ellis Park on Saturday (3pm), with the Capetonians at the top of their game after beating the Springbokladen Sharks 20-10 at the weekend.
John Dobson’s team will be out for revenge after going down to the Johannesburg side 37-19 at Cape Town Stadium in December.
“It’s great to see that the guys responded to last week’s game, and really showed heart,” Kriel said.
“As a group, we must just stick together, and we know that we can be much more clinical than what we were in this game.
“We got to the right parts of the field, but we just didn’t round off like we wanted. The Bulls got into our 22 twice and scored points twice.
“I believe if we strive to produce that kind of clinical play, then we will grow as a group. The challenge for us now is to not become individualistic but to stick together as a group, and the players must follow the coaches.
“Then I believe we will achieve success.”
@AshfakMohamed