Johannesburg - The Lions attack had few opportunities during their European sojourn earlier this month, but in their most recent outing at home against Ulster, it raised a hardening carapace – splendid to look at – albeit still with a vulnerable underbelly.
The Lions put together some scintillating play against Ulster, especially in the second half, scoring some cracking tries in the process.
They also kept the visitors guessing with their variety, switching between bullying runs from the forwards, and more fancy options from the backs.
The interplay between the two units was also quite enjoyable to watch.
The Lions came desperately near to closing out the game with victory, had it not been for some naive defending while down one player, and some sloppy game-management towards the end of the clash.
Nevertheless, much like how the defensive effort of the Joburgers has pleased Jaque Fourie, Ricardo Loubscher – the Lions’ attack coach – can also sport a smile about the continued development and improvement of the team’s attack.
The Lions have, after all, scored 17 tries so far in the United Rugby Championship this season – the fifth-most in the tournament.
“We are pleased with our effort on attack,” Loubscher said.
“It is nice to see what we have done in pre-season is paying off finally. All the credit must go to the players for working hard and paying attention to the small details. Hopefully, on Saturday, we can do the same.”
As pointed out by Loubscher, the Lions have an opportunity to rectify their 39-37 defeat when they host Glasgow Warriors this weekend.
Although they had some brilliant moments this past week, Loubscher wants to see that the team have learnt from their mistakes, and that there will be a more measured approach with ball-in-hand … exciting to be sure, but more measured nonetheless.
“We spoke about having composure and just having patience,” said Loubscher.
“The last 20 minutes was down to
how we started the game, especially the first half. We were chasing the game and in the last 20 minutes, we had to take the game to (Ulster).
“We would love for the players to be a little bit more patient and just a bit more composed.
“We are still learning as a team and, hopefully, in the next few
games, we can take those lessons from those situations and apply them. The big thing for us is to start well – whether it is in the first or second half, and to make sure we get scoreboard pressure.”
One of the more frustrating aspects of the Lions play currently, is their follow-up on box-kicks and kicks in general. It hasn’t been great, and against Ulster, it afforded the Irish club space and momentum on the counter.
Moreover, some of the kicking was not up to scratch. One particular box-kick attempt by Morne van den Berg, as an example, went straight up into the air, hung there and came down in favour of Ulster – in the Lions’ half – due to the hosts giving away a penalty for not retreating.
“Ideally, you want to get it right on the day – your kicking game, your execution, your defence,” Loubscher said.
“What we are seeing in (Glasgow’s) game, is there are a lot of contestables. We can expect anything from them – kicking off No 9, kicking off 10, kicking off 12 and 15.
“For us, it is about getting our systems right, getting our kicking game right, our defence and our kick-chase.
“On some of the kicks, we touched just on the execution of it.
“Secondly, just the pressure of those kicks: We have to get it right and that is how we can create scraps and opportunities.”