Lions licking their lips for derby duel

30/04/2024 16:08

Ivan van Rooyen said the Lions will return from a week's break fired up in the race to the Vodacom URC playoffs, with one eye on a potential do-or-die clash at the DHL Stormers.

The Lions suffered a heavy defeat against defending champions Munster last week at Ellis Park, where the Johannesburgers battled to keep up from the first half, with the Irish visitors building a 23-6 lead.

Van Rooyen's charges remain in 11th spot on the overall standings, although they could still finish in the top eight with their three remaining matches of the regular season in the Republic.

The Stormers have a two-week tour lined up before hosting the Lions at Cape Town in the final pool round, and addressing The Pride's chances of qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time, Van Rooyen was quoted in the media: "Eight or 10 points could potentially sneak you in there.

"For us, it's three games left. Win all three and all we can control is us. If we do what we have to do here [at home] then that Stormers game could get really spicy.

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"We basically got to win all three probably. It's the whole cliché of sticking to processes and why I want to say that is because Munster didn't do anything that we didn't expect.

"It's just the execution. We've got to minimise errors. We need to recreate the pressure in training sessions as much as possible."

"We've got to keep on showing the right picture of what we can expect in defence and attack from the opposition and then be more clinical from our side," the head coach added.

"They [Munster] won the small and the big moments, so the team that dominates more tends to win those small battles. There are a lot of lessons and I know it doesn't sound nice, but we just have to be better.

"I don't think we were out-passioned or outplayed in terms of building phases, momentum and line-breaks. We just have to be clinical with the defensive breakdown and keeping our ball on attack."

The Lions will lock horns with Welsh outfit Cardiff on Saturday, 11 May at Ellis Park.

Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

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