Johannesburg - The Lions are in a spot of bother, and that is a complete and utter understatement.
The trouble has already brewed and is now fermenting away, bubbling uncontrolled and unchecked. The chickens, as they say, have already come home to roost, left the coop and returned for a second occupation.
The Joburgers are not the same team that started the United Rugby Championship (URC) in September last year - one that was full of grit, determination and verve; and which promised to be an unknown quantity as the tournament progressed.
Instead, they have reverted to old habits and predictable play. Their opponents have the measure of them, it seems, on review and can easily manage their current systems in attack and defence.
Paddy Patterson is elusive 😎#BKTURC #URC | #MUNvLIO | @MunsterRugby pic.twitter.com/3CSNYoEQej
That seemed to be the case again on Friday night when they were played out of their encounter against Munster in Cork, where they lost 33-3. It was their third defeat in as many games, and the third consecutive time that they were unable to score more than 10 points.
Indeed, they have managed to rack up only 21 points – two tries, a conversion and two penalties in their past three games - against the Sharks, Stormers and Munster in total, while shipping 110 points.
The conditions at Musgrave Park were difficult, to be sure. Rain swept in over the artificial pitch, wind battered the stands, and the cold cut deep into the bones no doubt but the Lions were far too toothless for a squad that has so much power, talent and skill than what the scoreboard suggested.
Poor handling and an inability to protect their possession gifted their hosts the ball. Shoddy game management, a lack of tactical acumen and understanding of the conditions wretched the pressure up. A dominant scrum was thus nullified.
For instance, during the first quarter of the first half, the Lions had Munster creaking in the set-piece, and should have worked towards a penalty try. Emmanuel Tshituka, however, was perhaps too impatient at the base of the scrum and it was the last time the Lions would enjoy such field position with their scrums.
It could have been a game-changer.
The line-outs were too scrappy, from both sides, to have a major impact on the game. And so, Munster could control the pace of the game, rumbling forward with confidence.
Defensive frailties revealed in previous matches were exploited, while on attack the Lions propensity to use one-off runners were easily dealt with. Moreover, their big ball-carriers achieved little in gainline carries.
🦌 @MunsterRugby’s run rampant with 5️⃣ tries 🤩#BKTURC #URC | #MUNvLIO pic.twitter.com/aFiZAsAgDm
An argument could be made that Asenathi Ntlabakanye was their standout performer, especially in defence where he made an astonishing 18 tackles. Most worryingly, playmakers Jordan Hendrikse and Henco van Wyk hobbled off the field.
Post-match, head coach Ivan van Rooyen was frank in his assessment of the clash.
Said Van Rooyen: “We didn’t capitalise on the wind in the first half ...
“For them, in their first attempt to walk away with points, that was quite a blow. With the wind we wanted to play a bit more territory. At stages we managed to do that (but) we overplayed a little bit.
“In the second half, against the wind, it did die down a little bit which allowed us to play a little bit more. Again, we managed to put a little bit of pressure on Munster but, early on we forced an offload in the 22 and landed up back deep in our own half.
“The errors were expensive. We don’t really currently have the ability to capitalise on mistakes or when we really create to turn that over into points.
“We are disappointed in the result,” he continued.
“We don’t feel like they were 30 points better than … In that second half especially, they managed to keep us pinned in our half and we probably forced one or two things.
“It gave them an opportunity to go to the corner or get the ball back and put us under pressure."
The Lions are now seemingly stuck in the bottom five of the URC log, their top 8 ambitions slowly slipping away. They will step away from the tournament this week as they prepare for a frightfully good Stade Francais outfit in the EPCR Challenge Cup.
The Parisian-club are second in the Top 14, and will surely play a full-strength side against a bruised Lions on Saturday. More pain could come their way then unless answers to a deepening crisis aren’t found immediately.
@FreemanZAR