Swys relishes Lions’ big task

Ranked as huge outsiders ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby final in Christchurch, Lions coach Swys de Bruin admits his side will have a tough task to find any weaknesses in the Crusaders outfit.

The two teams will clash in the title decider for the second straight year after the Lions beat the Waratahs 44-26 and the Crusaders beat the Hurricanes 30-12 in the semifinals at the weekend.

“I saw a few miracles (against the Waratahs),” De Bruin said.

“The bounce of the ball went our way and I’m very pleased that we have a chance against the best team in the world.”

Another poor start saw the Lions trailing 14-0 before their powerful pack and scrum took over, with their forwards showing they could at least match the Crusaders in this area.

“They came at us with wonderful rugby,” De Bruin said.

“It was not nice to watch but they were so good at the start, we had to dig deep. We never had the ball and they outsmarted us, but once we had the ball it changed.”

While the likes of hooker Malcolm Marx (below) and flanker Kwagga Smith were brilliant in steering the ship, De Bruin said he was baffled by another poor start.

“It’s amazing, even with Rassie and them (Bok players), it’s like they have a go first and then we catch up,” he said.

Having challenged his team to deliver in terms of effort, De Bruin was pleased with the response.

“I don’t care if you make mistakes, especially when they (the Waratahs) started to go on their knees – and I made a call.

“Well done to the decision-makers for sticking to the plan. When we started tapping and playing, we could play Lions rugby.”

With the Lions scheduled to fly out tomorrow night, there was doubt over wing Aphiwe Dyantyi’s hamstring injury, though flank Cyle Brink could return after missing the penultimate round of the campaign with an arm injury.