It seems the Lions' roar has turned into a whimper, with coach Ivan van Rooyen ripping into his squad following their third straight loss in the Vodacom URC, this time a painful 41-15 spanking from Benetton in Treviso. The frustration was etched all over Van Rooyen's face as he watched his squad squander their physical edge with a comedy of errors that would make a clown blush.
The Lions might have flexed their muscles occasionally, looking like the kings of the jungle in brief spurts, but their inability to turn dominance into points left them more akin to lost cubs. Unforced errors, botched lineouts, and defensive blunders were the order of the day, turning potential victory into an unequivocal defeat.
"I think it was a game of huge missed opportunities from our side,"
Van Rooyen lamented.
"We felt we were physically dominant, but we couldn’t convert that dominance. I felt two of their tries came directly from skill errors and they ran 70 or 80m to go score. We also missed two crucial lineouts 5m from their tryline."
While the Lions' pack showed some teeth in the scrums and lineouts during the first half, their butter-fingered ball handling and questionable decisions ensured that every step forward was met with two steps back. "In attack, we managed to put them under a lot more pressure," Van Rooyen acknowledged, hopeful about the improved synergy between the forwards and backs. "I think the connection between the forwards and the backs was better this week and we looked a little bit more threatening. But unfortunately too many errors gave them the ball back and we know one of their strengths is the counter-attack."
"Defensively, just too many individual errors."
Van Rooyen pointed out, critiquing the lack of composure and focus when it mattered most. "Some sets and phases we really looked good and dominated them. But then through an individual error or a decision-making error, they get momentum and you’re on the back foot and under pressure."
The grim reality is that the Lions are now lurking near the bottom of the URC standings, with a crucial clash against the Scarlets looming on the horizon at Ellis Park. It's a must-win, do-or-die, sink-or-swim confrontation if they hope to salvage their season. For Van Rooyen and his pride, it's time to regroup and rethink, or continue to be the URC's favorite punching bag.
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It seems the Lions' roar has turned into a whimper, with coach Ivan van Rooyen ripping into his squad following their third straight loss in the Vodacom URC, this time a painful 41-15 spanking from Benetton in Treviso. The frustration was etched all over Van Rooyen's face as he watched his squad squander their physical edge with a comedy of errors that would make a clown blush.
The Lions might have flexed their muscles occasionally, looking like the kings of the jungle in brief spurts, but their inability to turn dominance into points left them more akin to lost cubs. Unforced errors, botched lineouts, and defensive blunders were the order of the day, turning potential victory into an unequivocal defeat.
"I think it was a game of huge missed opportunities from our side,"
Van Rooyen lamented."We felt we were physically dominant, but we couldn’t convert that dominance. I felt two of their tries came directly from skill errors and they ran 70 or 80m to go score. We also missed two crucial lineouts 5m from their tryline."
While the Lions' pack showed some teeth in the scrums and lineouts during the first half, their butter-fingered ball handling and questionable decisions ensured that every step forward was met with two steps back. "In attack, we managed to put them under a lot more pressure," Van Rooyen acknowledged, hopeful about the improved synergy between the forwards and backs. "I think the connection between the forwards and the backs was better this week and we looked a little bit more threatening. But unfortunately too many errors gave them the ball back and we know one of their strengths is the counter-attack."
"Defensively, just too many individual errors."
Van Rooyen pointed out, critiquing the lack of composure and focus when it mattered most. "Some sets and phases we really looked good and dominated them. But then through an individual error or a decision-making error, they get momentum and you’re on the back foot and under pressure."
The grim reality is that the Lions are now lurking near the bottom of the URC standings, with a crucial clash against the Scarlets looming on the horizon at Ellis Park. It's a must-win, do-or-die, sink-or-swim confrontation if they hope to salvage their season. For Van Rooyen and his pride, it's time to regroup and rethink, or continue to be the URC's favorite punching bag.