Lions coach pinpoints where things went wrong against Cheetahs
REACTION: Lions head coach Mzwakhe Nkosi pinpointed where things went wrong for his team following their narrow 27-29 Round One Currie Cup loss to the Cheetahs.
*Also read: Cheetahs survive Lions comeback in thrilling Currie Cup opener
The Lions were leading 27-26 with 10 minutes to go before a 74th penalty by Jaco van der Walt gave the hosts the lead, which they managed to hold on to despite waves of attack from the visitors to pull it out of the fire.
Nkosi didn’t see everything as doom and gloom despite the defeat, but highlighted the reason for his team’s eventual downfall.
“The result is obviously not what we wanted it to be, but there are many [positives] to take from it,” Nkosi said.
“I felt particularly in the second half that we played really well when we had the ball in hand, and our defence improved during the second stanza.
“Our ill-discipline was probably our undoing in the end and our inability to finish two [scoring] chances.
“We created six 22-metre entries and converted only two in the second half.
“Even in the final play, had we kept the ball for a phase or two extra, we could’ve gotten over the line and we would’ve been having a different conversation.”
Nkosi said although the Cheetahs were out to prove a point after narrowly qualifying for the Currie Cup, the same could be said for his team, which consisted of several debutants.
“We [as the Cheetahs did] wanted to prove a point. We had 13 debutants, and you have to put that into context, including 11 U21 players, so there’s a lot going for us.
“But that only counts if we get the [desired] result. If you don’t get the result, you’ll start plucking from positives.
“But yeah, it’s a good thing for all those guys who made their debuts. I think Victor Sekekete has got more first-class caps than our whole team combined.
“Guys like Likhona Finca showed what they’re capable of, as did many guys who came off the bench.
“So yeah, there’s plenty to go forward with.”
On another positive front, the Lions will be bolstered by several Junior Springboks who won the Junior World Championship against France Under-20 in Georgia on Saturday for the second consecutive season.
“Firstly, congratulations to those guys. We had eight Junior Boks in that team, and seven of them started in the Final.
“Again, it bodes well for us if we make it count. Hopefully they return unscratched; it looked like they were in the wars last night [Saturday].
“Hopefully there’s a clean bill of health, and I’m sure we’ll see one or two of them [get selected] over the next seven or eight weeks.
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