Lions are ‘a work in progress’

LIONS COACH: EXCITING TO WORK WITH THE YOUNGSTERS

Cheetahs have no answer to WP at a rain-sodden Newlands.

Though their opening Currie Cup win at the weekend was a step in the right direction, Golden Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen admits his side is very much a work in progress.

After trailing 20-19 at the break, the Lions scored six tries in the second half to go with their three in the first, earning a 62-41 victory over Griquas at Ellis Park.

And while they conceded five tries, Van Rooyen felt it was too early to be concerned about some weak defence.

“There was a lot of excitement which is a positive for us,” Van Rooyen said.

“It was the first game and you can always expect a bit of errors. We’ll obviously work on that this week, and on the defence, but with the young team we had we are fairly satisfied.”

The Lions were aided by the yellow card to Griquas loose forward Wendel Wehr just before the break, with the home side piling up 17 points by the time he returned.

“We managed to apply pressure and got the reward, but in the Currie Cup when you concede a yellow card it could prove costly,” Van Rooyen said.

There were some great individual performances, including a hattrick by wing Courtnall Skosan, as well as the efforts of No 8 Hacjivah Dayimani and replacement centre Wandisile Simelane.

“The first half was the first 40 minutes the team had played together in a match situation, but in the second half it started to come together more as the players started to find each other,” Van Rooyen said.

“It’s exciting to work with all the young players and obviously the few senior players made valuable contributions.”

Elsewhere, Western Province underlined why they were touted among the early competition favourites by whitewashing the hapless Cheetahs 32-0 at a sopping wet Newlands.

Scoring four tries and securing a bonus point, there was no stopping the hosts after Sevens star Ruhan Nel scored their opening try. Other tries were added by No 8 Juarno Augustus, hooker Scarra Ntubeni and lock JD Schickerling.

Picture: Gallo Images SOARING. Golden Lions replacement centre Wandisile Simelane dives over to score his try against Griquas during their Currie Cup match at Ellis Park on Friday night.