De Bruin: Lions to work on their defensive lapses

LIONS coach Swys de Bruin will be looking for a positive response from his players when they get to New Zealand this week ahead of their second Super Rugby tour match, against the Chiefs in Hamilton, on Friday.

The Lions’ fourth defeat (31-20 against the Brumbies in Canberra last Saturday) in eight outings has left them in last place in the South African conference as the 2019 competition hits the halfway point. De Bruin’s team have 18 points, while the Bulls who lead the conference are on 23. Just two weeks ago the Lions led the conference. Most concerning for De Bruin will be the fact that the Lions’ points difference is -35 – with only three teams having a worse points difference: the Sunwolves are -70, the Chiefs -41 and Highlanders -36.

Disappointingly for the Lions, they have scored 29 tries in their eight games, but also conceded 29, something that De Bruin & Co will be desperate to rectify in the coming weeks, and ahead of this weekend’s match.

“We gave the Brumbies some soft tries at the weekend,” De Bruin said about the match in Canberra. “There were some defensive lapses and it’s something we’re going to have to work on to sort out. I was fairly happy with our attack though; I thought we carried the ball well at times.”

The Lions let the Brumbies score five tries last weekend, while they managed just three; this despite the fact that the visitors enjoyed 54% of possession and spent a good deal of the match in the Brumbies’ half of the field.

The Lions are expected to be boosted by the return to the team this week of fit-again Warren Whiteley and Kwagga Smith – two senior men who will bring plenty of experience to the pack. Whiteley passed a fitness test on Friday and is expected to join his teammates at training today, after spending seven weeks on the sidelines, while Smith is set for a return to the team after picking up an injury in round five.

De Bruin is likely to pick both men, alongside the already available again Cyle Brink, in the loose trio for the match against the Chiefs this week, with Whiteley possibly taking over the captaincy from Malcolm Marx, too.

It would also come as no surprise if De Bruin took something of a gamble this week and opted to play Elton Jantjies at inside centre, alongside Lionel Mapoe, with Gianni Lombard slotting in at flyhalf. Rookie Lombard has looked a lively operator at No 10 this season and again on Saturday in Canberra he brought some attacking zest to the Lions’ back division.