Lions need to restart after another disappointing season

A break will be just what the doctor ordered for the Lions squad after a long and disappointing season came to an end over the past weekend, with a win over Ospreys in their final United Rugby Championship (URC) match.

The game threatened to end on the same note as their campaign, after Ospreys stayed in the fight, despite the Lions largely dominating, and took a late lead with just three minutes remaining.

But the hosts must be commended for showing some fight as they snatched the win at the death with a try after the fulltime hooter to flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela.

However, the win was purely consolation, as it lifted them from 13^th to 11^th on the URC log, comfortably short of the top eight and a place in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

It’s a far cry from the top four aspirations that Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen claimed they had before the current campaign got under way.

The Lions season started on a promising note in July last year when they enjoyed a fantastic run in the Currie Cup. They finished top of the log and hosted the final, where they were edged by the Sharks thanks to a long-range penalty after the fulltime hooter by flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse.

Despite the obvious disappointment the Lions shook that off and started their URC season like a house on fire, winning their opening four matches, at home against Ulster and Edinburgh and away against Dragons and Zebre.

As good as it got

But that is where the good times ended as the Lions season took a nosedive, and they struggled immensely over the rest of the campaign.

In the Challenge Cup the Lions lost two games and won two games to sneak into the last 16 as the fourth and final qualifiers from their pool, where they were dumped out by Edinburgh at the first hurdle.

Back in the URC the Lions won just four of their last 11 matches, after their terrific start, to slide down the table and out of the running for the playoffs.

Van Rooyen said after the Ospreys win that he was happy for the team to end on a positive note, and that they now had to rest their bodies before getting back down to business as they had plenty to work on in the off season.

“We are really happy with the win. We played with character to show what it means to us and leave us as a group in a good space where we can restart next season,” said Van Rooyen.

“It’s obviously been a long season. So we have to have a couple of weeks off to rest the bodies, and then restart preseason wise for the Currie Cup and URC. It’s important for us to heal the bodies and get re-energised so then we can start building again.

“We need to get the guys probably physically 1% better to maintain contribution in collision. Rugby IQ probably, because we are a little bit younger, still needs to improve and that will be a massive focus in pre-season, and just our decision-making under pressure and skill execution.”