AUDIO: How limp Lions will revive their URC campaign

Sunday 6 Apr 2025

REACTION: Under fire Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen is adamant his team can still qualify for the United Rugby Championship play-offs, despite a horror run of poor form.

Van Rooyen feels his team must improve their execution rather than exertion when they return home for their United Rugby Championship campaign.

The Lions return to South Africa following a horrendous winless three-match European tour – which included a 0-42 loss to Glasgow Warriors (in the URC, Round 14) and a 12-24 loss to Edinburgh in the Challenge Cup Round 16 play-offs.

The Johannesburg side again flattered to deceive against Edinburgh at the weekend.

It was another poor start from Ivan van Rooyen’s men that saw them scoreless (0-17) at the break.

They showed more fight in the second half with two tries, but they could’ve had so much more if they had been more clinical on attack.

Losing hooker Franco Marias and Springbok loose forward Ruan Venter to injuries did not help their cause, while Quan Horn’s yellow card in the 23rd minute was another unfortunate setback.

*Article continues below…

“We are pretty disappointed with the loss [this past Friday] and the two previous results.

“It’s three very different games in terms of weather and tests, so a lot to learn from the tour and a lot to improve.

“There was still some good character and fight. I think if I look at the second half against Glasgow, not conceding anything after being smashed in the first half, and again on Friday, we showed some good character and fight.

“However, that speaks to our start. Pretty disappointed with our first 40 minutes in the last two games and just the consistency thereof.

“So it’s not an effort thing; it’s just the consistency.

“We made 11 errors in the last 30 metres of the try line, and all the errors were on attack. So it makes it very difficult to convert pressure into points.”

#REPORT: Lions fail to roar in Challenge Cup play-off 👇#ChallengeCupRugby #Edinburgh #Lions #EDIvLIO https://t.co/mGyWuCLZWj
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) April 4, 2025

Van Rooyen added: “[It was a] good fight back from us, but then crucial moments like the last try came in and took our comeback opportunity away.”

The Lions’ play-off hopes are still alive as the team is currently 14th on the log with 30 points, but still only six points off the eighth-placed Edinburgh.

The side will take on Benetton, Connacht, Scarlets, and Ospreys at Ellis Park.

In terms of injury, Ruan Venter left the field early and will undergo a scan on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.

“There are a lot of sore bodies after weeks of playing on the artificial grass.

“We need to make sure we get them to recover well and fix.

“It is important for us to get home to friends and families.”

He added: “It’s an opportunity to keep moving forward, to get to our goal of reaching the top eight.

“It’s important for us to find our identity and stay true to our identity, especially back home.”