VIDEO: How Lions fixed their defensive frailties
REACTION: Lions captain Burger Odendaal explained how his team managed to rectify their defensive shortcoming against Munster at the weekend.
The Lions secured their second-consecutive United Rugby Championship victory – and fourth of the season – with an impressive 23-21 comeback win over Munster at Ellis Park at the weekend.
The visitors, regarded as favourites, took an early 14-0 lead and seemed to be well on their way to secure the away win, as they also held a 21-10 lead at the break.
However, after a lacklustre performance, the Lions turned things around and scored 13 points, while they kept the visitors scoreless in the second half.
*Attack:
Ahead of the fixture, Lions defence coach Jaque Fourie admitted it will take a mammoth effort to contain the two-time European champions and it certainly was.
The URC stats revealed the Lions made 149 tackles (missing nine) compared to Munster’s 102 (missing 16).
“[Munster] came with wave after wave of attack, but our defence stuck and we kept our line,” Odendaal told reporters after the match.
“They made two metres on one carry and then we pegged them back again.
“After that phase, you could actually see that they were down on their knees and man down.
“We had a call that we wanted to lift the tempo again, and [even though] we didn’t really lift the tempo, we just tried to keep it there.
“I felt that was a big turning point for us.”
*Defence :
The performance is certainly a big improvement in contrast to the Lions’ earlier performance against their South African counterparts.
“It was something of a roller coaster for our defence,” Odendaal said.
“When we went overseas we actually defended quite well.
“We then showed glimpses of good defence when we got back to South Africa. Something we brought up in team talks was that we concede very easy tries, while we have to work really hard for our tries.”
He added: “I think the boys really worked for each other on Saturday.
“We said it was going to take an 85-minute effort and the guys just stuck.
“We didn’t give away easy tries, maybe a couple in the first half but I think the boys just really ground out at the end.
“It’s a massive defensive effort when the team can’t get through. You can almost see them getting frustrated and then lose the ball. That [was] massive for our defence.”
Reflecting on the win, Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen said: “As head coach, this win is the most significant one, especially given the manner in which we won.
“It showed character and that is awesome.”
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