‘Small mistakes’ cost inconsistent Lions
Lineout coach Barend Pieterse says the Lions must find consistency in their final push for the Vodacom URC playoffs.
The Joburg-based franchise began the tournament with four consecutive victories but have recorded just two more wins since then while suffering eight defeats, including two on tour last month to Cardiff (20-17) and Glasgow (42-0).
That saw the Lions drop from eighth on the log to 14th, and they are now six points outside the playoffs going into a run of four home matches against Italian club Benetton this Saturday, Irish province Connacht and two Welsh teams, the Scarlets and Ospreys.
To reach the last-eight of the URC for the first time in four attempts, the Pride might need to win all four of those matches, which would require a level of consistency they haven’t achieved since the start of the season.
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“We are not consistent enough in our performances,” Pieterse admitted in an interview with News24. “We’ll have three good performances, two bad and then one medium, and then back to one good one and then three bad ones.
“You can’t say we don’t have 20 Springboks or internationals; we have a lot of young players, but a lot of them have already played like 50 or 60 URC matches. We have a young squad, but they have got experience.
“It’s us making small mistakes, and those small mistakes turn into points for the other team; we can be on attack in the 22 and we lose the ball and they go and score, stuff like that. A lot of the stuff is in our hands.”
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Pieterse said injuries and a lack of squad depth had played a part in the Lions’ up and down season.
“[Flank] Ruan Venter would play for two games and get a small injury that would keep him out for four weeks, same with [centre] Henco van Wyk. We’ll be there and then we get an injury.”
“Even though we have a good core, we don’t have the depth the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers have at the moment; that does play a role.
“But it’s not an excuse for us to not be consistent. As a group, coaches and players, we need to be better with consistency.”
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