Lions roar to second Currie Cup victory, but Nkosi urges caution amid youthful exuberance

The Lions made it two-from-two in the Currie Cup but will have to shed some of their youthful exuberance, coach Mziwakhe Nkosi warned after his team's 40-19 win over Western Province at Ellis Park on Saturday.

They made their experience count over Western Province whose fortunes are directly the opposite after the first two rounds.

The Lions backed up their opening-round crushing of the Sharks with a win that would have been resounding had it not been for a few blips.

“The result and performance in patches were good,” said Nkosi. “Our youth is still showing one or two immature things like ill-discipline. That broke the rhythm of the game but it got better in the second half.

“The biggest thing was the silly penalties. If we sharpen up there we will be a better team.

“We also entered their 22 five times in the first half without converting. We will have to look at that. It is about staying patient and keeping our wits,” Nkosi explained.

In some areas however, the Lions were a lot sharper than they were against the Sharks. “Our breakdowns were a whole lot better. In fact, it was too quick for our own liking,” said the coach.

Captain Jaco Visagie was in agreement. “Last week we said we wanted to look at our breakdown. We fixed that and that allowed us that quick ball. With our new attack I find myself on the outside a bit more,” said the hooker who was the beneficiary of two maul tries.

The victory was slightly tainted by injuries to front rankers Morgan Naude and Heiko Pohlmann but Nkosi didn't appear too alarmed.

“The initial prognosis with Heiko is good. It wasn't a concussion but scrum pressure. He will go through his tests. The prognosis sounds positive.

“Morgan didn't have a contact injury. He just turned funny. One of the Province players turned inside and he stepped with the surface a little bit wet underfoot. He'll have to go for scans with that one,” explained Nkosi.

The Lions will need all hands on deck next week when they face feisty Boland in Wellington. The coach insisted his team strap up for that assignment.