'Sloppy’: The harsh reality of Lions' defeat to Bulls
REACTION: There were few positives to take from the Lions’ humiliating 17-52 defeat to the Bulls at Ellis Park on Saturday, as the Johannesburg side were comprehensively outplayed in their United Rugby Championship Round 11 clash.
The Lions entered the fixture with a measure of confidence following their 43-33 upset of the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in November, but any belief was quickly erased as they were exposed across the park.
Conceding eight tries while managing just two of their own, the Lions struggled to gain any momentum and were punished ruthlessly by a clinical Bulls outfit.
Head coach Ivan van Rooyen did not mince his words in assessing the performance, labelling it “sloppy”.
“In that first half, I don’t think we managed to get the ball through two phases, maybe not even three, so just sloppy,” Van Rooyen stated.
“You make an error, they get the ball, then you concede momentum. So I think the frustration in the first half was errors and momentum.”
Van Rooyen dismissed fatigue as a contributing factor, insisting the preparation had been sound.
“We were happy with the prep, with the pictures, with how we wanted to play.
“Just on the day, the execution was not accurate enough,” he explained.
“We conceded a lot of momentum, and then I think in the latter stages, in the second half, the energy dropped a little bit. Then it’s tough to recover. The more we tried to manufacture something, again, the errors were too much. The Bulls just punished us.”
From a player’s perspective, captain Francke Horn stated that every player should take accountability for their part in the defeat.
“We lost five or six line-outs, especially in the second half. And we probably didn’t get more than one or two phases.
“I mean, the last try we scored, we kept the ball for five phases, and we scored easily. And that’s a big frustration. So players need to take accountability for what they did out there.
“Obviously, it’s a team sport, but the individual must also do his part.”
Horne shared his coach’s sentiments, revealing that nothing in the build-up to the match suggested such a performance was coming.
“Nothing in a week’s prep led us to perform like that today. But definitely the pressure and the slow start got to us, and it’s just not a good enough performance.”
The result sees the Lions drop out of the top eight and into 10th position on the standings, level on points with the Sharks in ninth.
The Lions’ URC resumes on February 21, the Gauteng side faces a tough challenge in the shape of the Sharks, followed by the Stormers.
“I think we’ve got about six more at home. The first two are against South African opposition – Sharks and Stormers.
“So it’s not just the energy, but it’s also the execution with the energy that needs to be more consistent.
“It’s a big March, April, May – it’s going to be a massive phase.”
