The Lions must keep errors to a minimum against the DHL Stormers on Saturday to pull off another successful raid in Cape Town, says defence coach Jaque Fourie. DYLAN JACK reports.
Last week, a lacklustre final 20 minutes in Durban saw the Lions concede a bonus-point 37-10 victory to the Sharks, having only trailed by seven points at half time.
Following a short break over Christmas, the Lions have licked their wounds and Fourie told the media on Tuesday they had analysed their performance at Kings Park.
“We got bullied. The Sharks were physically better than us,” the former Springbok centre said. “We had a good look at ourselves. That wasn’t our standard. We will definitely have to pick up our defensive effort if we want to win.”
On Saturday, the Lions will travel to Cape Town looking to end a long run of derby defeats, and become the first team in 2022 to beat the reigning Vodacom United Rugby Championship champs in the Mother City.
“It’s a year ago that we beat them in Cape Town. They are a different team since then,” said Fourie. “They have gone on to win the URC. They have picked up a lot of momentum. We want to forget about what happened against the Sharks and put our positive energy into beating them on Saturday.
“They are a quality side with the ball and are good defensively. So we have to be at our best on Saturday if we want to win.”
Fourie said that the Lions will be looking to cut down their error rate in Cape Town, in order to limit the number of counter-attacking opportunities for the Stormers.
“The Stormers are very dangerous with counter-attacks. Those three tries they scored in five minutes against the Bulls, it was from an error in the air and then getting the ball and going with it. If you give them any opportunity to counter-ruck or run at you, they will punish you.
“We have to stay connected in the defensive line and close their space and time. Otherwise it will be a long day at the office.”
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Early reports suggest that the Lions will be without captain Reinhard Nothnagel, hooker PJ Botha and loosehead prop Sti Sithole for the clash after the trio went off against the Sharks with injuries.
Photo: Gallo Images
