Lions Coach Ivan van Rooyen wary of 'wounded' Stormers after Sharks victory

The thrilled Lions coach Ivan Rooyen praised the character shown by his players in outplaying the Sharks 34-22 at the weekend, but he is not getting carried away ahead of this week’s SA Derby against the Stormers at Ellis Park.

“It was hardly the perfect performance (against the Sharks), but we were bitterly disappointed after the last performance against the Bulls, so to walk away with five points… I’m really proud, really happy,” Van Rooyen said.

Key to the win was a much-improved set piece, especially at lineout time.

In the Lions’ previous match, a 50-point mauling by the Bulls, their set piece was a disaster.

“We were a lot better and a lot more effective in the set piece today,” the coach said. “We had the ability to put them under a bit of pressure. I felt there were some really good solutions today, so I’m really proud of the players.”

The win pushes the Lions up the URC ladder into seventh place, a position above the Bulls.  The Joburgers are also in strong contention for the SA Shield.

“It’s obviously good for us to have this opportunity (to win the Shield), but 110 percent our focus will be on our process.”

The Stormers visit Ellis Park on Saturday, third on the URC log after slipping from first place following back-to-back defeats to the Sharks. Van Rooyen said the Lions know what mood the Capetonians will be in.

“The Stormers, after playing the Sharks twice, didn’t get the wins. We know how proud they are and the quality that they have. If you’re not going to be 110 percent ready for the Stormers, then they can absolutely tear you apart.”

Lions captain Francke Horn agreed with his coach that while the job was done against the Sharks, there is plenty of work required.

“The performance against the Bulls was not what we want to stand for,” he said.

“We want to be a team that has hunger and plays a good brand of rugby, and we showed that at times against the Sharks.

“There are things to change and things to fix, but that’s every game.”

“We showed some dominance. We were really hurting after the Bulls game here at home. We had two weeks in training to fix that, and I think we did a good job of that,” said Horn.

“We had a lot of opportunities which we didn’t take, but if you told me before the game that we would get five points, I would have taken it.”

Horn echoed his coach’s sentiments on the challenge the wounded Stormers will present.

“The Stormers will be hurting after their two losses against the Sharks, so we will have to step up our game,” said Horn.

“I am happy with the performance (against the Sharks), but we need to keep on going. This was a massive game for us, and next week it’s going to be the same.”

* Mike Greenaway is a senior rugby reporter at Independent Media and contributor on our Last World on Rugby podcast on our YouTube channel, The Clutch