Lions just threw it away
NOT ONLY did the Lions suffer a quite unexpected Super Rugby defeat by the unfancied Blues on Saturday, but they also lost their inspirational captain Warren Whiteley in the process.
In a quite stunning second-half blitz at Ellis Park, the Blues turned around a 21-3 deficit just before the break to win 38-35, for just their second win in South Africa in 11 matches.
Led by No 8 Akira Ioane, who was sensational throughout the 80 minutes, and backs like Rieko Ioane, Sonny Bill Williams and Melani Nanai, the visitors’ attacking wave was just too much for the Lions in the latter stages of a pulsating match. The loss at home was just the second in 22 months for the Lions, going back to April 2016. They also lost to the Crusaders in last year’s final. The Lions, having enjoyed a handy lead for much of the game, were left stunned by not closing out the contest – something they have almost perfected.
“We battled all match to protect our ball,” lamented coach Swys de Bruin. “They’re a very dangerous team with turnover ball... and that was it. It was a game of margins, but we have to close games down, especially when so far ahead.”
Indeed. The Lions should have finished off the game in the 75th minute when replacement prop Dylan Smith barged over from close range to help his team to a 35-24 lead. They didn’t though and allowed the Blues to strike a double – and match-winning – blow with tries by Jimmy Tupou and Murphy Taramai in a final fourminute blitz.
“It was a bit frantic, we got a bit loose, and started giving too much possession away,” said Whiteley about the final 20-odd minutes. “We weren’t clinical enough, we weren’t direct enough. We threw balls away... and we all know if you give them (New Zealand teams) that amount of possession and opportunity they’re going to capitalise.
“They just showed again how clinical and good they are with turn-over ball. It’s very disappointing, mainly because (of) our strength is the last 20 minutes, but that’s when they took the game away from us this time. I don’t know when last we were so poor in the final 20... with that lead we had we should have closed out the game.”
Whiteley’s match ended as early as the 25th minute when he hobbled off the field with a knee injury. While De Bruin admitted things might have been different had the captain remained on the field until the end, he said there were more than enough leaders in the team who should have ensured that the Lions got over the line.
“Warren is one of a kind, a fantastic leader, but our whole spine (hooker, No 8, scrumhalf, flyhalf, and fullback) are Springboks, so there are lots of leaders in the side. They need to stand up,” said the coach.
Whiteley confirmed afterwards that he is likely to miss a few weeks action. “It’s a PCL (posterior cruciate ligament in the knee), probably grade one, so I don’t think it’s too serious,” said the No 8. “Perhaps only a couple of weeks (out)... I’m walking fine, there’s no pain. It just feels a bit unstable.”
(PICA) After two narrow defeats, to the Highlanders and Chiefs, Blues coach Tana Umaga was a happy man after what he said was “right up there” for wins in his Super Rugby coaching career.
“People have questioned the culture in our group, but you got a good glimpse of what it is there. The guys played for each other, they showed fortitude, they wanted the win, there was a hunger... and they kept playing in that second half,” said the former All Black captain. “One win doesn’t mean that’s the season for us, but it’s a confidence-builder for sure, and hopefully good things will come from this. It’s right up there... not performance wise because there were lost of errors, but for the heart and grind, and the belief they showed.”
The Lions face the Sunwolves on Saturday, while the Blues are at Newlands for a date with the Stormers. THE BULLS may have lost their first game on tour against the Reds but the lessons learnt will stand them in good stead to earn their first victory in New Zealand in five years when they play against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday, according to coach John Mitchell.
For the second time this season, the Bulls will have to look to themselves in finding the solutions to how they let go of a 14-10 half-time lead to eventually go down 20-14 to a Reds side that capitalised on their impatience and lack of accuracy on attack.
But beyond his team’s inability to put through enough phases to break down the opposition, Mitchell conceded that they have to show a great deal of improvement in all areas of their game if they are to deliver the kind of performance that will see them overcome the Chiefs at Waikato Stadium.
The jury is still out on what exactly is happening in the scrums with the Bulls being penalised more often than they should be, while their apprehension to contest the breakdown with the ferocity it deserves leaves them having to defend for a longer time than they should.
“At the moment we are just not consistently accurate across the board,” Mitchell said.
“So that means at some point if we can put it all together, then we are going to present ourselves with an opportunity of finishing off a match like that.
“First half we scored two good turnover tries and then we let in one just before halftime, having sustained a lot of defence.
“What concerned me was the lack of shape in attack just after halftime when we were building pressure with the ball.
“We have to learn to become more patient.”
Two consecutive loses, against the Lions and Reds, may have negated the Bulls’ morale-boosting start to the season when they beat title contenders the Hurricanes, but there are enough good things that they are doing with ball in hand to suggest that victory is not too far away.
If the little moments of weakness that are proving to be costly can be eliminated, especially the time spent with ball in hand and finishing off opportunities, there is no reason why the Bulls won’t be able to push the Chiefs to the limit and walk away with the win.
“We are experiencing situations all the time.
“I felt that we were far too impatient on attack and we must learn that team work comes from working together rather than trying to do it on our own. Maybe having to spend so much time on defence took a fair bit out of us.
“But I need to commend the fight of the guys, some of the scramble defence was exceptional, they stayed committed to each other and clearly presented themselves at the end an opportunity to win a tight match,” Mitchell said of some of their frailties in Brisbane that will need to be rectified this week.
The men from the capital suffered an injury setback with co-captain Nic de Jager sent back home because of a rib injury and will be replaced by Springbok Sevens hard man Tim Agaba.