Edinburgh v Lions: Pierre Schoeman calls for consistency and discipline from home team
04/01/2025 05:00 PM
AFTER one team loses heavily to another, it is always tempting to label the next time they meet as a revenge mission. And it goes without saying that when Edinburgh welcome the Lions to the Hive in Friday night’s Challenge Cup last-16 tie, they will be out to do a whole lot better than in October’s URC meeting between the teams, when they were humiliated 55-21 in Johannesburg.
But while the Lions played well enough that afternoon, particularly in a first half which ended with them 48-0 up, Edinburgh – not for the first time this season – were their own worst enemies. So, as they approach a critical stage of the season in which every game could have a critical impact on their ambitions, their focus will be as much on conquering their own deficiencies as it will on trying to overcome the opposition’s strengths.
Pierre Schoeman, for one, knows that consistency will be key as they bid first to qualify for a home quarter-final in the Cup against either the Bulls or Bayonne, and then reach the same stage of the URC by winning most if not all of their regular-season matches. "The consistency of us as a club, that's what people always question,” the Scotland loosehead said on Tuesday after a Hive training session. “And I think this is a brilliant time to show it now [with a run of] a few home games.
“I mean, when we beat the Lions, the next game can be a home game. The game after that, another home game. So you can really set the standards for us. So this week, all eyes on the Lions.”
Judging by their 42-0 loss at Scotstoun last week, the Lions suffer from the same sort of maddening inconsistency that has plagued Edinburgh at times. Edinburgh fared far better in their game against the Dragons, racking up a 38-5 bonus-point win that took them back into the URC play-off places. However, Schoeman is taking nothing for granted as he looks ahead to Friday, knowing that the Lions are capable of playing far better than they did against the Warriors, and being convinced that his own team were below their best in their match against the Welsh side.
"We learned a lot against the Dragons,” he continued. “I mean, we got the five points, but it’s not nearly as good as we can be.
"We know the South African boys – they’ll be hurting from that [Glasgow loss]. They’re going to really leave everything out there before they return back from the UK. They’re going to come full steam and they’re going to remember the previous game at Ellis Park – but so do we and we have to take confidence in learning.
"We can learn a lot from the way Glasgow played the Lions – the speed of ball and contact area and then discipline. Discipline is key. We haven’t been really good at it, but we’re getting better now. And we set ourselves some targets as well in the contact area. So, yeah, I really think we’re going to focus on that.
"And it comes down to set piece with South African sides. They’ve always prided themselves on set piece, but so do the Edinburgh Gunners. Our set piece is really good when we focus and we're on it for the full 80. I really think we can beat them."
Schoeman's brother Juan, three years his senior at 33 and also a loosehead, played for the Lions in both that URC game in the autumn and in the loss to the Warriors last week. The younger man has the edge in the family head-to-heads so far, although it seems that his parents – naturally enough for South Africans – were supporting the Lions the last time Edinburgh played them. "I've beaten him three times to two, so hopefully we can make it four to two,” he added. “And I don’t know what my parents will say, but I’m still raging at them for that Ellis Park game."
Schoeman looks like one of the most likely Scotland players to be selected by the British & Irish Lions for the summer tour to Australia, and he believes that his form in the Six Nations steadily got better as the Championship wore on. Nonetheless, while clearly hopeful of being chosen, he insisted that he would not be distracted from his aim of playing well at club level.
"I definitely feel towards the end – the Ireland, Wales and France games – were probably my best games," he said. "I do feel it’s part of my aspirations and my goals. You can only control the controllables. So just to play well for Edinburgh now is my focus."
The post Edinburgh v Lions: Pierre Schoeman calls for consistency and discipline from home team appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.
