Thanks to a vital win over Connacht, the Lions have put their future firmly in their own hands as they prepare for tough matches on the road against Irish powerhouses Leinster and Munster, says coach Ivan van Rooyen.
The in-form Lions stretched their winning run in the United Rugby Championship to an impressive six matches thanks to a clinical display against Connacht at Ellis Park in Johannesburg last week.
The winning streak has pushed the Lions into third place on the URC log as the business end of the competition approaches.
“We’re keeping ourselves alive, which is the nice part,” Van Rooyen said. “Connacht are such a tough team to play against. They don’t go away. They’re physical. They’re fit.
“Now we’re touring. It’s a tough tour — Leinster, then Munster — but as we’ve been saying, at least it’s still up to us.
“In the last three seasons, we hoped for one or two results from other teams. Currently it’s up to us to decide where we are, and the feeling is different than the last two or three years.
“I think we’ve grown a lot. The last two or three years it was just not good enough and hopefully this year it will be different. Two seasons ago, when we thought we had secured a top-eight spot, we slipped up in crucial games at home. We lost the last couple of matches and didn’t make it.
“However, I feel there has been plenty of growth since then. This time around, the feeling is a bit different, looking at where we are in our campaign and where we are heading. There is a sense of relief, yes — but we are not in the playoffs just yet.”
Van Rooyen said the transformation of his team had been significant this season.
“Six months ago we were spiralling and I was asked how we were going to regain control. In that regard we’ve grown quite a lot. Our decision-making is better. Our ability to transfer pressure onto our opponents has improved.
“Some elements of our game are developing consistently, and over the last three years it just hasn’t been enough. But this year is different. The more clear you are about what you want to do and your identity, the easier it is.
“A lot of the time, you want to look at the outcome but you must look at the process and what made the difference or what had the effect. I think the coaches and the players are really aligned about what we want and what we need.”
Delighted Lions captain Francke Horn said committed defensive work had been vital in the win over Connacht.
“Connacht are a good team, especially on attack,” he said. “We knew we were going to have to defend multi-phase. There was a stage on our tryline where we defended for three to four minutes, and we managed. It was a massive defensive performance for 70 minutes.
“Two tries at the end left a sour taste, but it’s good to win and get five points to stay alive. With a yellow card, they scored just seven points, and we scored points ourselves.
“The maturity of the win, I think we’ve grown a lot.”
Remaining Lions fixtures: May 9 versus Leinster; May 16 versus Munster.
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