Van Rooyen disappointed in 'non-decision' that cost Lions dearly

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen euphemistically described a refereeing failure to award his team a match-winning try against Cardiff as “interesting” and a “non-decision” but he admitted his team should have won the game long before.

The match ended with a series of Lions attacks from close quarters on the Cardiff line and replacement flank Sibabalo Qoma looked very much like he had grounded the ball but the referee and the TMO didn’t seem brave enough to make a call.

The match ended 20-17 to Cardiff and the Lions travel to Glasgow knowing that their one log points should have been four. The match was played in wet, blustery conditions and the visitors did not look comfortable so far removed from the Highveld, but their forwards won more than enough possession to secure a win.

“With the log being so tight, obviously every single point is big,” a disappointed Van Rooyen said. “We got one but we felt we did enough at the end of the game to get the win.

“There were a couple of non-decisions or interesting decisions. We felt we scored so we’re disappointed to not walk away with four points.”

Cardiff are the top performing Welsh team and are sixth on the United Rugby Championship table. They had their coach, Matt Sherratt, back from Six Nations duty and were well-organised on defence. Cheered on a by a boisterous crowd, Cardiff made over 200 tackle as the Lions battled to find away to the tryline.

Cardiff, on the other hand, earned some easy points, notably a gift interception seven-pointer scored when wing Harri Millard picked off a Marius Louw pass.

Van Rooyen admitted that his team could have been tactically better.

“Cardiff played the wind better than us,” he said. “A couple of the kicks into the wind fell short. We didn’t manage to catch them out of the air which gave them double possession and then they could kick again.

“We didn’t adapt quick enough when we were against the wind. In the second half, they adapted better and tactically, that worked for them. We’re disappointed with that, not having the ability to catch the ball and then launch an attack or another kicking set onto them.

“Because when you got it right, with it being wet, cold and windy, possession wasn’t always the answer. Territory was probably more important. I think we lost that in the bigger picture at the end of the game.”

Next up for the Lions are the Warriors, the defending champions. They beat Munster 28-25 at the weekend in a thriller.

“It is going to be cold and windy in Scotland,” Van Rooyen said. “Glasgow managed to get a win against Munster so now it’s important for us to get points again.

“Yes, we’ve got four home games after the tour but we were disappointed with the result in Cardiff. We feel it’s an opportunity missed.

“So, it’s important for us to get to Glasgow and get as many points as possible. We take positives with us to Glasgow. Our set piece was strong, our defence was decent and some of our attack was good."