Better start needed by Lions for final
Better start needed by Lions for final
QUICK TAP: LIONS PLAN WILL BE CRUCIAL IN FINAL
Coming from behind has been a recent trend for the side against the Bulls and Jaguares in their two games before the semifinal.
“We’d like to improve on that. We were under pressure, we had to go back to the drawing board, tighten up a bit. We went to our rolling maul and our scrums and I think it worked well. That’s been our strength all season,” he said.
Coach Swys de Bruin said he challenged the Lions on effort and they had produced it when required.
“I said I don’t care if you make mistakes, but I wanted effort. Especially at a stage when they [the Waratahs] were going down on their knees. We made a call and the players upped the tempo.
“I saw a few miracles happen today. The bounce of the ball went our way and I am very thankful that we are able to go to the best team in the world.
“I watched them this morning. They are unreal. We will have to try and find a crack in that armour.
?? This is what you call making a try out of nothing! How will @crusadersrugby combat Aphiwe Dyantyi and the Lions in the #SuperRugby final this weekend?#CRUvLIO pic.twitter.com/vKH84pYxtC— Super Rugby (@SuperRugbyNZ) July 29, 2018
“I believe in miracles and this team has proven it. So anything can happen. The Crusaders are the favourites – they are a very good team – but it is still 80 minutes between four white lines so it will be interesting,” he said.
When his side were down at the start of the game that had been because they never had the ball, he said.
“We had to defend and they cleverly outsmarted us. But once we had the ball, the game changed.
“It’s amazing, even with the Springboks against England [in the June internationals], it was the same. It seems we have to allow the opposition to run away with the score early and then we catch up.
“It gives me grey hairs and it’s not good for the spectators, but you know what? It builds character in a way. But we are going to have to fix that before we meet the Crusaders,” he said.
Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson said: “I felt their scrum, the lineout maul at times was overpowering today and they thoroughly deserved their victory.
“We know the Lions are a very good team from the 20-minute mark. We were always undersized against the Lions. The Lions won the big moments in terms of those mauling tries they were able to capitalise on and particularly through that yellow card period.”