After securing the SA Shield at Ellis Park, Ivan van Rooyen’s men are staying grounded and focused on a historic URC playoff push. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen says there is no chance of his team suffering a babalaas after celebrating winning the SA Shield in fine style by thrashing Edinburgh 54-17 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The statement win consolidates the Lions in seventh place on the points table with five rounds to go. The Lions have never made the United Rugby Championship play-offs before, and it would take a horrible collapse if they were not to make history this season. Van Rooyen says it is all about staying grounded as they look forward to hosting the Dragons this week.
"We won’t get ahead of ourselves," Van Rooyen said.
"We won’t have a babalaas, and I don’t mean it in the alcohol sense. It was nice to win the SA Shield and get the trophy in Johannesburg in front of our fans, and we will take some nice pics with it, but I promise you come Monday morning it is back to work to prepare for the Dragons — Monday is the most important day of the week."
The coach said the Shield was a just reward for the players.
"We are proud of the achievement. This season, we spoke about being more consistent against the South African teams.
"The SA derbies are hugely competitive. I think South Africa is the only URC region where all four teams have won the shield. It is a reward for the hard work put in by the players and coaching staff. The guys are prepared to work hard.
"We are in a good place in terms of our work ethic. You can only play as well as you train."
Van Rooyen said the big win against the Scottish team is invaluable as the URC draws toward the business end.
"We understand how important these five points are in the bigger picture of the tournament," he said.
"We did our homework. Edinburgh are one of the best teams in the competition with how they keep the ball and keep applying pressure, so we needed a big defensive effort. We were very good in the collisions, and we knew if we got that right, it would produce counter-attacking options for us, and from there we were exceptional."
Captain Francke Horn said the scintillating tries scored were not accidental.
"We scored some unbelievable tries today, and they came from hard work — the players have to get into position to play off each other," he said.
"We were a hungry team; we discussed the importance of backing up our performances because the race to the top eight is so tight. We have to keep building and building, but it was a solid performance to celebrate winning the SA Shield."
The Lions still have three more home games before they head to Ireland for two matches.
"Each game offers you a different opportunity," Van Rooyen said.
"We knew Edinburgh are exceptional in holding onto the ball, but if you can somehow force a turnover, it equals an opportunity. Our line-outs were good, but I am still not happy with the consistency of our scrums. Whether their scrumming was legal or illegal is for another discussion, but we want to apply pressure in that area too.
"Our identification of space is improving, so is our execution, and we will keep polishing those areas. Our work rate on defence is exceptional. The exciting thing is that the competition is in the finishing stages — the Bulls were unreal, Connacht had a massive victory over Ulster away, and we still have to play them.
"The pressure is healthy, and the trick is to be emotionally ready to accept that pressure for what it is, and know what to do."