‘We have seen the next level and aspire to be there,’ says Lions coach Van Rooyen
· Citizen
Having been brought back down to earth with a thud after a historic season, the Lions are eager to kick things up a level and coach Ivan van Rooyen is excited about the future of his young team.
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The Lions endured four seasons of disappointment, unable to finish in the United Rugby Championship (URC) top eight and qualify for the competition play-offs, until the current campaign when they finished seventh.
But that was as good as it got for them, as it booked them a quarter-final against defending champions Leinster in Dublin, which ended with an emphatic loss.
Despite the disappointing finish, the Lions will be buoyed by their first appearance in the play-offs, and having qualified for the Champions Cup for the first time will be a massive boon for the team next season.
A lot of the excitement for the team is that a number of players made their senior debuts this season, and look to be thrilling prospects, while their more experienced players are still relatively young themselves.
“I am really excited for the group and what’s possible. The core of this team is still pretty young. It was a season of a lot of firsts,” explained Van Rooyen.
“If you think of Batho (Hlekani), Hash (Hashim Pead) and (Siba) Mahashe (making debuts), and we have a lot of players coming through and getting used to this level of rugby and the pressure (that comes with it). We have now seen the next level and we aspire to be there.”
Need to sharpen up
Where the Lions will have to sharpen up is on their travels, as a few more wins on the road would turn them from a top eight contender into a side that could challenge to finish in the top four.
They made Ellis Park their fortress this campaign, winning eight out of nine games, with their only loss being a surprising blowout against cross-Jukskei rivals the Bulls.
On the road however they won only two, drew one and lost six, and they were unable to win a match overseas for the first time in five seasons of the URC.
In previous seasons the Lions didn’t perform too badly overseas, with their biggest failing usually coming in local derbies, but that changed this season as they won four out of six, including beating the Bulls and Stormers away, but in Europe they lost five and drew one.
Despite that shortcoming, Van Rooyen said they had learned a lot, and that they would look to improve and get better heading into next season.
“The camaraderie, the care the players have for each other and how hard they’re willing to work for one another have all been major positives,” he said.
“Our alignment as coaches and players has improved, and our identity and how we want to play has become clearer. Our kicking game improved dramatically through the season and we were among the top attacking teams in the competition.
“It has been a season of growth, a season of firsts and a season that showed what this group is capable of.”