Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen lamented the uncharacteristic errors his side made in the URC quarter-final against Leinster on Saturday in Dublin.
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Leinster were clinical and we made too many uncharacteristic errors.
That, in a nutshell, is how Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen summed up his side's disappointing United Rugby Championship (URC) quarter-final loss to the defending champions on Saturday evening in Dublin.
From the kick-off, the home side dominated and eventually scored nine tries in a 59-10 victory over the visitors in their first-ever URC knockout match.
It was a lesson in clinical rugby from the Irish powerhouse, and a lesson for the Lions in general about what it takes to progress beyond the quarter-finals and how important it is to secure a home play-off in the tournament.
“Leinster were clinical, and they really put you under pressure in both defence and attack,” Van Rooyen said.
“We made too many unforced errors; kicking the ball out on the full, basic mistakes, and they are good enough to punish you when that happens. They have more Test caps in their side than we have URC caps, and it was evident. However, we learned valuable lessons.
“A lot of the guys got to experience Ireland over the last month and what it is like to face a Leinster side full of Test players. Hopefully, we will be better for it.”
Van Rooyen admitted that the occasion — playing in their first-ever quarter-final against the defending champions — may have affected his players. He added that they made a number of uncharacteristic errors.
Flyhalf Chris Smith and fullback Quan Horn both kicked balls directly into touch while looking for territorial gains, while some of the visitors’ decision-making on attack also hampered their efforts. Those kicks proved costly because they handed possession back to Leinster in favourable positions from which they could launch devastating attacks.
“Once you allow them into their attacking zone and your defensive zone, their execution and the speed at which they play is impressive. Unfortunately, they capitalised on that. Their rush defence is also a big lesson.
“Speaking to Jaque (Fourie, the Lions’ defence coach) before the game, I believe their defence over the last six weeks has improved a lot in terms of connectivity and collective pressure. And yes, it worked tonight (Saturday evening). We created a couple of chances but didn’t finish them.
“And as I said, if you make those kicking errors, then you’re just defending. Then, if you allow momentum in the first two phases, you start chasing shadows because their decision-making and the tempo at which they do things are impressive. They are good lessons to learn, but it’s obviously not lekker in the moment.”
Despite the heavy defeat, the Lions can still look back on a campaign in which they exceeded expectations. They have grown from being nearly-men to reaching the URC play-offs and securing their place in next season’s European Champions Cup.
However, they are well aware that they must improve further if they want to compete in Europe's elite competition and make the URC knockouts in consecutive seasons.
Now, it is all about rest for the Johannesburg side.
“Obviously, we’ll do a thorough review of the season and especially of tonight (Saturday). We’ll look at our strengths, the areas we need to fix and work on, come up with solid plans for progress and growth, and just keep building. The core of this team is still young, and many of the players are coming through and getting used to this level and pressure.
“We saw the next level of competition in the quarter-finals, and we will aspire to be there.”