UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
Leighton Koopman|Published
The Lions know they have plenty of work to do after a second consecutive defeat on tour in all competitions, with their lineout struggles, defensive lapses and second-half collapse against Edinburgh exposing areas they must address before facing Glasgow Warriors.
Despite the disappointing 31-10 loss, head coach Ivan van Rooyen insists all is not doom and gloom, with the Johannesburg side determined to learn from their mistakes and find a way to get their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign back on track.
However, things will not get any easier when they face Glasgow Warriors, and only an improved performance at the lineouts and on defence will give the Lions a chance.
The visitors suffered an implosion after half-time, allowing Edinburgh to run away with the clash as they scored four tries to seal the victory. But for large parts of the contest, the Lions were still in the fight, although their execution and skills let them down at crucial stages.
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen says they know they were second-best on Friday evening and that there are plenty of things to fix ahead of the Glasgow clash, but all is not lost for his team.
“You can be with your head underwater and only see the errors, but there were still some good things we did,” Van Rooyen said.
“However, we made too many mistakes tonight (Friday). On defence, we made three fatal errors that ended up in points for them and we just could not get that momentum on the attack. We didn’t hang onto the ball long enough.
“The one time we did it well, Batho (Hlekani, flanker) scored a good try. Without possession off the lineouts it’s already difficult in these circumstances, so we will have to fix our lineouts. We will pick our heads up and find a way next week.”
According to Van Rooyen, the conditions made it really difficult at the lineouts. It was a rainy, cold and windy night in the Scottish capital, which contributed to their struggles. However, the coach knows they must fix things, as they could face similar conditions when they take on Glasgow.
According to official URC statistics, the Lions lost six lineouts and missed 37 tackles, giving the home side the platform to score five tries and secure a bonus-point victory.
“It was difficult in the wet, cold and windy conditions. Edinburgh were also good at contesting, as we saw in the game against the Stormers. But we just weren’t good enough. Some of it was our timing and other times accuracy, and without lineouts, you will struggle to get your backline going to put pressure on them.
“There are a lot of small things we need to work on and focus on this coming week.”