Lions clawed their way to character-building win in atrocious conditions

Lions captain Francke Horn lauded his team's steeliness in defence at the end of their tight and tense 10-9 United Rugby Championship win over Zebre in Parma on Saturday.

The Lions secured their fourth straight win at the start of their campaign to set up a top of the table clash with Leinster in Dublin next Saturday.

It was the way in which they held their defensive lines with the game in the balance in atrocious conditions that helped pave their way to a top billing fixture next weekend.

“In those last five minutes we were really under the pump and the guys stayed composed. Almost like last week where we knew we had to be disciplined and there were really good defensive sets right at the end,” Horn said.

Horn added he was really happy with the character the team showed.

“I think half the team was in that breakdown right at the end,” he recalled.

The rainy conditions meant the Lions had to depart from their go-to modus operandi. Edwill van der Merwe's 28th-minute try was the only one of the match.

“It was raining non-stop for 48 hours and as the game progressed the rain increased as well,” coach Ivan van Rooyen explained. “Apart from the ball being wet, the field was actually soggy.

“We wanted to play an evasive kind of game and a momentum game and that made it difficult. Obviously really ugly, but we'll take the four points.”

That they pulled off a win in conditions foreign to them was a further confidence builder for the team. In fact, it is becoming a theme.

“Four really different games, four different [sets of] conditions, four different ways of playing and styles,” Van Rooyen said about their wins.

“I think Zebre played really well in those last 20 minutes where they did not play any rugby and just kept on kicking back to us and finding grass. There are some nice lessons for us to learn there.

“We found a different way to seal the game last week and we found a different way to seal the game this time. There is growth internally, which is good for us. Next week will be a totally different challenge.”

Van Rooyen does not need reminding about the blue chip quality that resides in the Leinster camp.

“We are under no illusion it is 90% of the best team in the world currently ranked No 1 and that it will be tough,” he said about the high number of Irish internationals in the Leinster squad. “We want to see how we can push them.

“We'll see if we can find something there that can set us apart from where we were last year. To see the growth. It will not be 'let's try something and see what happens'.”

Van Rooyen explained the Lions' coaching unit has already looked ahead to the Leinster clash. He said his team faces a long travel day before they start preparing in earnest for what is arguably one of their most important fixtures yet in the URC.

Irrespective of the result next week, Van Rooyen is happy with the points haul his team has already secured on tour.

“If you offered me eight points pre-tour we would probably have taken it. Anything is possible next week.”

The coach is hoping to have influential tight-head prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and lock Darrien Landsberg available for the clash. Flyhalf Kade Wolhuter, who has been restored to fitness, may join his teammates in Dublin.