Lions disappointed with ‘yin-yang’ showing, as Stormers celebrate ‘massive’ win

The Lions were disappointed with a performance that saw them produce contrasting halves that led to them going down 31-22 against the Stormers in their United Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday.

An impressive first half performance saw them take a strong 22-10 lead into the halftime break, only to watch as the Stormers ran in three tries and 21 unanswered points in the second half to snatch a bonus point win in the end.

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“It was yin and yang. It was just a complete turnaround. I felt we had control after the first 40 and we lost that control in the second 40,” said Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen.

“If your lineout then doesn’t function, you can’t build pressure back and you end up playing in the wrong half of the field as well as defending. Normally that combination doesn’t work so well.”

A big moment in the match occurred in the 65^th minute, after the Stormers had dominated the first 25 minutes of the half, but had only managed to reduce the deficit to 22-17 at that stage.

The Lions received a couple of penalties in the Stormers 22m, the second from right in front of the uprights, and unlike in the first half when they took every opportunity to kick over points, this time they chose to tap and go, with the Stormers eventually earning a penalty and clearing.

“We felt the momentum did swing a little bit. I think three points there would have been massive, and we have already had a chat about it,” admitted Van Rooyen.

“It is a good educational moment there. When you feel the momentum slipping and you are starting to lose your grip (on the match), something like that could potentially turn it around.”

Mixed emotions

Stormers coach John Dobson on the other hand was happy with the end result, but not impressed with his team’s performance, claiming that it was one of their worst of the season.

But he did have some complimentary words for the Lions and said they were building something special.

“I am very pleased with the result. Our process was poor and there were some mitigating factors. But I will say the Lions deserve a lot of credit. They put us under a lot of pressure and I was tearing my hair out at a couple of our decisions in the first half,” said Dobson.

“If they (can) keep this side together it’s going to be a very good rugby team. I think Ellis Park is going to be a very tough place to play this season. So for us to get five points here is a massive achievement.”

With the teams now entering a three week break for the November internationals, it is going to be a good period for the Stormers, while the Lions will need to reflect and work out how to bounce back, with them still winless at home this season.

“This is going to be a long three weeks. As Dobbo (Dobson) said to me (earlier), sitting on a win is different to sitting on a loss. Our first two games in the next block are against international opponents here, so the best time to fix it is over the next two games here,” said Van Rooyen.