Flank Jaco Kriel believes the Lions’ high error-rate in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship means the players have to accept responsibility for their results.

Saturday’s 32-10 loss to the Stormers at Ellis Park condemned the Lions to their fourth defeat in a row, leaving them in 14th place with fixtures against European opponents looming on the schedule.

The Lions have conceded 134 points in the last four games, nearly twice as many as they have scored during this period (70).

This has led to questions over head coach Ivan van Rooyen’s position, especially after the Lions last year revamped the backroom staff to include former Springboks Albert van den Berg and Jaque Fourie as forwards and defence coaches, respectively.

However, speaking after their latest loss, Kriel said the coaches cannot be held accountable for the results given the raft of individual errors.

“I believe that we, as a group of senior players, have to support the coaching staff,” said the Lions flank. “The last thing you need is a rift between coaches and players. That’s definitely not the case in our camp at the moment, we’re still enjoying working with each other.

“It’s important for us to remember that we have a lot of youngsters in our group and we don’t want them creeping into their shells. We’ll take their pressure on us but it’s important for the rookies to learn from experience.

“Some of the errors we’re making boil down to personal responsibility. We’re putting our coaches under enormous pressure. They can’t teach you not to knock on possession and catch a lineout ball. That’s where we need to be accountable.”

Van Rooyen did not shy away from confronting the issue.

“We’re almost seven months into our new coaching structure and it’s our focus and responsibility to make the gap between expectation and actual output as narrow as possible,” the Lions coach said.

“Are we going into coaches’ meetings despondent? Definitely not, but we’re not blind to our failings. We know there are errors that keep getting repeated, be it skill- or pressure-driven. I can assure you we’re working really hard on them.

“Sometimes, all you need is a lucky break. One interception to stick or a holding on penalty to swing the momentum and get your confidence back.”

The Lions next travel to Dublin to face defending champions Leinster on Friday, 25 February.

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images