‘Talk is cheap ... Lions must roar against Bulls’
LIONS assistant coach Neil de Bruin has challenged his players to live up to their billing as South Africa’s best Super Rugby outfit as the competition nears the business end.
The Lions lead the SA Conference ahead of the Jaguares and will host a quarter-final at Ellis Park next weekend if they beat the Bulls in their final league game at home on Saturday. While the Lions will start as favourites, their inconsistent performances this season will give the Bulls hope of upsetting the odds.
De Bruin, son of head coach Swys, said the Lions need to add action to the talk about them being SA’s best hope of Super Rugby glory. The Lions made it to the final in 2016 and 2017, but lost to the Hurricanes and Crusaders in Wellington and Joburg respectively.
“Talk is cheap now ... we must now play,” said De Bruin, who handles the back division.
The Lions have had an up-and-down time in 2018 under the new-look coaching team, winning just eight of their 15 games. But with another chance in the playoffs looming, De Bruin wants to see the team take a step up.
“We want a complete performance (this weekend against the Bulls),” said De Bruin. “But what is a complete performance ... I’d like us to play with freedom and to limit our mistakes. If you make mistakes and concede penalties you get onto the back foot, so discipline will be crucial.
“A classy performance would be good, playing to our strengths and keeping the ball. We’re not going to go into our shells and play conservatively. We’re rather going to stick with the same DNA that’s got us to the final in the last two years. We’ve hopefully learned from all those experiences and can one-up it this year.”
De Bruin said the fact the Lions can call on Warren Whiteley and Malcolm Marx after they spent a long time on the sidelines was a big boost. “There’s good excitement in the group and nice energy, too, especially with the experienced guys back in it again. We’re hoping for another good performance, like the one we produced at Loftus earlier in the year; that was one of our best this season..”
The Lions beat the Bulls in Pretoria in March, winning 49-35, but this week the Lions are coming off a bye, while the Bulls have some momentum behind them having beaten the Jaguares last Saturday.
“We feel pretty fresh after a week off, but they have the momentum,” said De Bruin. “They’ve also got some good experience in their team, so it should be a nice spectacle.”