The Lions must find a way to eliminate their costly collapses if they are to establish themselves as regular contenders for a top-eight finish in the United Rugby Championship.
Their 57-15 defeat by the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday was the third time in the past year that the Johannesburg side have conceded more than 50 points in the competition. They have also crossed that scoring mark themselves twice, underlining the inconsistency that continues to undermine their progress.
The Lions were beaten 52-17 by the Bulls at Ellis Park in January before suffering a 59-10 quarter-final defeat by Leinster in Dublin in May. Yet they also produced emphatic home victories over Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, scoring 54 points against each Scottish side.
The concern is that those impressive wins came against weakened opposition, while the three heavy defeats were suffered against teams that faced a Lions side close to full strength.
Now Ivan van Rooyen’s team must recover quickly before their first Champions Cup match, away to French heavyweights La Rochelle, followed by URC fixtures against Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.
Van Rooyen acknowledged the importance of a collective response after the Bulls loss, with three demanding matches ahead.
“We can really sulk about this Bulls result, or we can collectively pull in,” the coach said. “There’s no decision to be made, it’s just to get collectively back on the horse, jump on the plane and go fight that battle.”
Captain Francke Horn was equally determined that one poor performance should not define the campaign.
“It would be a shame if this one result determines the whole of the next seven months,” he said.
Horn believes the solution lies in greater composure and precision when matches begin to turn against them.
“We just need to be more focused, more clinical, and if things go a bit bad, just calm down and get cool heads and don’t try harder, if that makes sense.”
The trip to France offers an immediate test of whether the Lions can turn those words into action. Against La Rochelle, another defensive collapse could prove costly. A disciplined response, however, would provide a timely statement about their ambitions.
