‘We had to dig deep,’ says Lions coach Van Rooyen about Dragons win

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen praised his team’s leadership group for helping step up and swing the momentum for them to pull away from a gritty Dragons side in the second half of their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The Lions were forced to dig deep, after taking an 18-14 lead into the halftime break, before an early try from Dragons in the second half saw them take a 21-18 lead after 47 minutes.

But that seemed to be the spark that finally ignited the hosts, as they hit back emphatically with four tries in an 18 minute period, which put them out of reach as they eased to a 42-26 win in the end.

Speaking after the match Van Rooyen explained that it was about overcoming the Dragons physicality, which had disrupted their game, before they could pull away.

“We eventually found some momentum. They are really physical. I think their defensive breakdown is absolutely world class and they are one of the top two or three teams in the competition in terms of physicality,” said Van Rooyen.

“They have this ability to get you out of your rhythm and almost disrupt your game a little bit. You saw it against the Stormers last week and again against us this week, so well done to them.

“I think they are a lot better than what their log position is. Eventually we found a bit of rhythm (in the second half). We had to dig deep, but it was some good growth from the leaders to swing the momentum.”

Lions move up

The result has lifted the Lions up to fifth on the URC log, going into a two week break as the Champions and Challenge Cup last 16 and quarterfinal rounds are battled out.

When the URC resumes again the Lions will still be in a huge top eight battle, with just four points on either side separating them from Connacht down in ninth and Ulster up in third.

“It was a massive win in the bigger context picture. Sharks, Connacht and Bulls all won, so there is a real pressure to keep on performing and keep on winning,” added Van Rooyen.

The Lions have two more home games, against the table topping Glasgow Warriors and fellow top eight challengers Connacht in their next two matches, before they finish their pool stage campaign against Leinster and Munster in Ireland.