Munster eyes Lions scalp after Loftus disappointment
REACTION: The Lions may have ended a three-month drought at the weekend, but there will be no time to bask in the glory of their first win in 2022.
The next visitors to Ellis Park are the two-time European champions Munster, a side determined to make up for the disappointment of losing to the Bulls in a rescheduled Round Six match at the weekend.
Munster coach Johan van Graan, who was born in Pretoria and schooled at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool across the road from Loftus Versfeld, admitted they didn’t adapt well enough to Welsh referee Ben Whitehouse in the first 20 minutes.
It allowed the Bulls to race into a 26-3 lead in the first half.
Despite a second-half comeback that saw Munster dominate proceedings and outscore the Bulls by 18 points after the break – and overall three tries to two – the Irish province had to settle for losing bonus point in the 24-29 loss in Pretoria.
Van Graan declined to comment on the referee’s performance.
“I will follow the process, like we do every week,” he said, adding: “We will get our feedback from that.”
Despite the disappointment of the loss, Van Graan said many teams will still travel to Pretoria and find out exactly how tough it is to win at Loftus.
“Having been here [Pretoria] for a very long time, I know how tough it is to come here and play – in terms of the altitude and the heat.”
He added that there are many similarities between Munster and the Bulls – especially the respect they have for the game and the ambition of both outfits.
Van Graan described the team’s next assignment – a Saturday afternoon trip to Ellis Park in Johannesburg – as a ‘real challenge’.
The Lions are coming off a 37-20 triumph against Cardiff and will be buoyed by a result that ended a three-month winless streak.
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“The Lions showed against Leinster they are a quality side,” he said of the Johannesburg team’s 13-21 loss in Dublin two weeks before their win over Cardiff this past Sunday.
“As somebody that has been involved in the game in the region for a very long time, I know just how difficult it is for visiting teams to this part of the world.
“You don’t just come here and get a win on the Highveld.
“The Lions at Ellis Park will be a test for anybody coming from the Northern Hemisphere.”
However, he has belief in his team to learn from the Loftus experience, bounce back and get the positive result they want at Ellis Park.
“As I said before, the URC is going to develop into a great competition,” Van Graan said.
“There are so many challenges.
“The South African teams toured in the Northern Hemisphere [in September and October] without their Springboks.
“They had to get used to the wind at Galway’s, the conditions at Thomond Park, as well as the 4G [pitches] of Cardiff and Glasgow.
“Now we are coming down [to South Africa] and have to adjust to the altitude and the heat.
“You can’t just talk about it, you have to experience it and we experienced to for the first time at Loftus.
“We are coming out of the Irish winter. We’ve had a week to acclimatise now and will be better for it.”
He also touched on the physicality of the South African teams.
“That is why the Springboks are World [Cup] champions,” the Munster coach said.
“We knew what was coming from the Bulls, but it terms of collision we just could not stop it in the first 20 minutes.
“We fought through it and in the last 20 minutes [at Loftus] I felt we were dominating the collisions and we were the stronger team.”
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