VIDEO: Lions ready for 'mission impossible'
The bookmakers suggest the Lions will do well to lose by less than 25 points when they tackle Leinster in Dublin on Friday.
The Lions’ backline, attack and skills coach Ricardo Loubscher was happy to accept the underdog tag – given the team’s poor run of form this year.
He said, despite the winless run in 2022, there is a ‘great’ vibe in the camp.
Laubscher acknowledged that – despite the absence of 17 players, who are with the Ireland Six Nations squad – Leinster will still pose a massive challenge to the tourists from South Africa.
He spoke of an “excitement” in the camp ahead of Friday’s trip to the RDS Arena for the rescheduled Round 10 outing.
“We are looking forward to measuring ourselves and seeing where we are as a team,” Loubscher said in the build-up to Friday’s outing.
He admitted it has not been a great run this season – having lost to the Sharks (37-47) at Ellis Park, the Bulls in back-to-back matches (13-21 at Loftus Versfeld and 10-34 at Ellis Park) and to the Stormers (10-32 at Ellis Park) in their last outing.
The Lions’ last win in any competition was a 37-19 win over the Stormers in a URC match back on December 4.
“Behind the scenes, the players and coaches are working hard to rectify the mistakes.”
Speaking of Friday’s ‘massive’ challenge, he said: “There is a reason why Leinster is the No.1 and sitting on top of the standings.
“They have a brilliant squad.”
Leinster is the benchmark in not just Ireland, but also Europe – having won the European Cup four times, most recently in 2018, the European Challenge Cup (second tier) once, the URC (and its predecessors – the Celtic League, Pro 12 and Pro14) eight times, the British & Irish Cup twice and the Irish inter-provincial championship 22 times.
Last week, fielding a team looking similar to the line-up that will tackle the Lions, Leinster thrash Ospreys 29-7.
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“They speak about not having an A or a B side, but two A teams.”
Loubscher said that “discipline for 80 minutes” is going to be key against the Irish and European giants.
“Irish teams are fit and have a massive work rate, putting you under pressure with their defence and kicking game.”
The biggest challenge for the Lions will be to improve the declining defence – with a tackle success rate that has dropped to about 75 percent from a more acceptable 90 percent at the start of the season.
“We have spoken about or tackle quality,” Loubscher told @rugby365com, adding: “That needs to be better. Our one-on-one tackles need to be spot on.
“Any team, if you give them quick ball you will be under pressure.
“For us, it is important that we get off the line quickly, slow down their ball and be in their faces all the time.
“We need to put them under pressure and force mistakes.
“They are a quality team that will challenge you with the ball and without the ball.”
@king365ed
@rugby365com
