Van Rooyen: Lions showed good fight in Edinburgh, but must stay true to URC identity

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen feels that it is “not an effort thing” that is affecting his team, but they were again well short of their best in their 24-12 Challenge Cup playoff defeat to Edinburgh on Friday night.

While the Johannesburg outfit were certainly better than in their 42-0 drubbing against Glasgow last week, their defence let them down again as they gifted a few tries too easily that led to a 17-0 halftime lead for Edinburgh.

The first five-pointer came after just 74 seconds through fullback Wes Goosen as Edinburgh easily outflanked the Lions in the wider channels.

Those kinds of glaring gaps must be addressed by defence coach Jaque Fourie if the Lions hope to reach the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals.

The visitors weren’t able to generate front-foot ball from their forwards, despite the valiant efforts of hooker Jaco Visagie, prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, lock Darrien Landsberg and No 8 and captain Francke Horn.

At the back, star Bok scrumhalf Morné van den Berg was a lone ranger at times as he tried to spark the attack, cleared the lines with his kicking and made some crucial tackles.

But they lost the breakdown battle as Edinburgh were able to snap up a few turnovers through Scotland internationals Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie, as well as slow down the Lions’ possession.

Losing hooker Franco Marais in the 11th minute and star flank Ruan Venter in the 26th minute to injuries didn’t help.

Neither did fullback Quan Horn’s unfortunate yellow card for not releasing Darcy Graham in a tackle just short of the tryline in the 21st minute.

“Obviously we are pretty disappointed with the loss last night, and with the previous two games,” Van Rooyen said on Saturday.

“Three very different games, in terms of weather and tests. So, a lot to learn from the tour, and a lot to get better.

“There was still some good character, some good fight. I think that second half against Glasgow, not conceding any points after being smashed in that first half...

“There was some good fight in coming back again last night.

“That obviously speaks to our start. Pretty disappointed with our last two games in our first 40 minutes – just the consistency thereof.

“It’s not necessarily an effort thing, or... it’s just the consistency. I think we made 11 errors in the last 30 metres of the attack last night.

“But our first 11 errors were all on attack, within 30 metres of the tryline. So, it’s really difficult then to convert pressure into points.”

Van Rooyen felt that there were still positives to take out from the Hive Stadium as the Lions now venture home for a two-week break before they resume their URC journey.

They are currently 14th on the log with 30 points, but still only six points off the eighth-placed Edinburgh.

So, their playoff hopes are still very much alive as they have four home games to come at Ellis Park: against Benetton on April 19 (1.45pm), Connacht (April 26, 4pm), Scarlets (May 11, 3pm) and Ospreys (May 17, 5.15pm).

“Good fightback from us to get back into the game. There were one or two crucial moments in that second half, where we felt we had good momentum on our side,” Van Rooyen said as Francke Horn scored in the 46th minute and Visagie in the 75th.

“But we just let them back in, and we unfortunately let that last try in to just take that comeback opportunity away.

“In terms of injuries, Ruan came off early, and we will get him scanned on Monday back in Johannesburg.

“A lot of open wounds, cuts and grazes from three consecutive games on the artificial pitches.

“So, a lot of sore joints and bodies, and we need to make sure they recover well and get fixed and plastered up.

“It’s important now to get home to our families and friends, and then it’s four home games.

“It’s an opportunity to keep on moving forward, to get to our goal to reach the top eight. It’s important for us to find our identity and stay true to our identity, especially back home.”

Points-Scorers

Edinburgh 24 – Tries: Wes Goosen, Ben Vellacott, Jamie Ritchie, Ali Price. Conversions: Ross Thompson (2).

Lions 12 – Tries: Francke Horn, Jaco Visagie. Conversion: Nico Steyn (1).