Coach Ivan van Rooyen is excited for the Lions’ four-week tour to Europe, as they look to return to winning ways in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and European Challenge Cup.
The Joburgers, who travel on the back of successive derby defeats to the Sharks and DHL Stormers, will kick off their tour on Friday against URC opponents Munster in Ireland.
Eight days later, Van Rooyen’s Pride are in Paris for a Challenge Cup rematch against Stade Francais, before clashes against the Dragons (22 January, Wales) and Connacht (28 January, Ireland), in the EPCR and URC respectively.
The Lions defied the odds at the start of the 2022-23 season when they wrapped up an unbeaten URC tour with three wins, and speaking post-match after the six-tries-to-one loss to the Stormers on Saturday, Van Rooyen hoped his troops can rediscover their form abroad.
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“You don’t like to lose, and it’s tough to lose, I’m not going to lie, but it’s just that lack of consistency. If you manage to get back into the game and feel you are one try away from getting back in it, you then let it slip,” he told reporters.
“As you saw today with both [SA derby] results, it’s obviously mentally tougher than anyone expected two weeks in a row over this festive time in away games.
“But we’re traveling Monday morning on a four-week tour so we’ve got to get used to playing away. I think probably the toughest fixtures are to play away in South Africa currently.
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“We managed to put the Stormers under pressure, but one or two final passes, losing one or two balls at rucks… The disappointment is the lack of consistency at crucial times.”
Van Rooyen added: “There’s still a lot of belief in this group, not just playing away but at home. We know we’ve got to get more consistent in attack and defence especially.
“We spend a lot of time together in Joburg but it’s different, so for us as a group going away for four weeks, it’s a great opportunity for us to get consistency in our preparation and roll with the punches. I’m excited to tour.
“Munster is currently the third, fourth best team [in the URC] if you look at the last few weeks, and we’re under no illusion it’s going to be tough.
“As rugby players, we’re extremely competitive and extremely proud so every loss is hurting, but can we turn it around? We can, and there’s nothing better than a tour to pull together and collectively get that result.”
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Photo: Getty Images
