Scarlets may offer mediocre Lions a welcome reprieve

A welcome return home and an opponent that is doomed to dwell at the bottom of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship log may well just give a bit of relief to the Lions after a disastrous start to the tournament.

Their 41-15 mauling at the hands of Italian side Benetton wasn’t unexpected but it did cap off a terrible tour for the Johannesburg side, as more and more questions are being asked about a coaching team that simply can’t lose their jobs.

Despite finishing 12th, 9th (twice) and 11th in the last four seasons - just one of which would be enough for most professional teams to change their coaching regime, the Lions stubbornly stick to Ivan van Rooyen and his coaching team, even though this season it has brought them three defeats.

Van Rooyen was elevated from his job as Strength and Conditioning coach to head coach six years ago. After the first two years were unsuccessful, Lions management changed the assistant coaches and retained him in charge.

POOR RECORD

Nothing has changed though and before the start of the season, Van Rooyen had a paltry 42 per cent win record over six seasons.

It has left many Lions fans scratching their heads as to why the Lions refuse to change anything, despite not making the top eight of the URC for four consecutive seasons.

Every week, Van Rooyen talks about missed opportunities and how the team will work harder, and after every defeat, the response is the same.

This week, though, he may well be given a reprieve. Scarlets are the one side in the competition in a worse state than the Lions and are heading to South Africa with a massive hangover after the DHL Stormers blanked them 34-0 on Friday night.

They lost their opening game to Munster by more than 20 points at home as well and had their second game called off because of bad weather. Dwayne Peel is feeling the heat and his side won’t be looking forward to getting on the road.

SCARLETS IN TROUBLE TOO

For the Lions it couldn’t be a better way to distract from their own failings and if they don’t beat Scarlets, which they should on the highveld, it is going to be a very long season indeed for the Joburg side, who also sit without a stadium and main sponsor this season after Emirates ended their contract at the end of last season.

The real question is how much the obsession to win the Currie Cup has cost the Lions? When the commentators remarked that Angelo Davids was playing his ninth game this season for his new side, even though the competition is only three weeks old, it underlined the problem in real terms.

Somewhere that decision to play the top players in the Currie Cup will catch up to a team, and in the Lions’ sense it may be sooner than they expect.

Davids has been a find for the team and is one of a handful of individuals who are still performing well, but cohesiveness is missing and there seems to be a distinct lack of belief in their systems as well.

LOST CHANCES LAMENTED AGAIN

Van Rooyen, for his part, came out and lamented lost chances again, and said the next two weeks are vitally important for the team. Scarlets may give them a reprieve, but after that Ulster will be a massive test, especially on the evidence of their win over the Bulls in Belfast.

“In a lot of the phases in the game, we felt we were dominant, we felt we were physically dominant. Then we just couldn't convert it all. Two of their tries came directly from a skill error from our side and they ran 70 or 80 metres to go score,” Van Rooyen said in a voice note 24 hours after the defeat.

“We also missed two crucial line outs five metres out from the try line. I think in attack we managed to put them under a lot more pressure. I think the connection between the forwards and the backs was also better this week.

“I think we looked a little bit more threatening on attack, especially against Cardiff. But yeah, unfortunately, too many errors gave them the ball back. It's one of their strengths as well, their counter-attack and they have some really quick outside backs.

“Especially those two long-distance tries showed their test quality in terms of decision-making and speed. I also think our set-piece was a little bit more consistent than against Zebra. Defensively, there are too many individual errors.

“In some setpieces and some phases we really looked good and dominated them. Through an individual error or through a decision-making error, they get momentum and then you're on the back foot under pressure. Also speaking to their coaches afterwards, I think that the score isn't a true reflection in terms of physicality and pressure in the game.

DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULT

“But obviously, we were really disappointed with the result. Also, with the scoreline, we felt that with about 15 minutes to go, if we could just convert one or two of their chances, we might put them under real big pressure in the last 10 minutes when you're five or six or seven points behind them.

“We felt that we did get the momentum and then, unfortunately, also conceded two yellow cards in the last 10 minutes. That almost let the game run loose, and it looked a bit messy. And then we were just struggling under pressure there.

“It’s a really important two weeks for us against Scarlets and Ulster and it is important to get two results out of those games. It’s also important for us to keep on believing and keep on challenging the way that we want to play.”

Those two weeks may be a lifeline the Lions are clinging to and there is a chance they can suddenly come right at home, but it would only mask the long-term issues the side are dealing with and their inability to take tough decisions.

But with silence from the top and no change in six years of mediocrity, it seems the Lions are content to be the one South African team whose sole aim is to make the top eight, and not win the competition.