Head coach Ivan van Rooyen is left to rue missing out on the Vodacom URC playoffs yet again, and after another inconsistent performance from the Lions.
Van Rooyen cut a reflective figure after the Pride fell 32-19 to the Scarlets at Ellis Park on Sunday, confirming their fourth straight absence from the URC knockout stages.
“We felt with four home games we could capitalise on that, that there was a real opportunity to end anything from six to eight,” he told reporters. “To lose two out of the three currently, obviously that is frustrating. It’s a huge disappointment. We set our targets on it, we set our goals on it.
“I told the referee today, if we scored the fourth try last week, we were in the hunt to come seven to eight. That’s just the small margins in this competition. It’s really 0.1%. Every day, every decision, every week.”
RECAP: Scarlets punish Lions to stay in playoff hunt
The playoff dream had ended a day earlier, when Benetton stunned defending champions Glasgow Warriors. That result rendered the Lions’ final two fixtures meaningless in the standings, but not without purpose.
“We did speak about coming out and having a purpose in the game, even though the results didn’t go our way,” Van Rooyen said. “But I don’t think that’s the reason why we lost, to be honest. We still did enough out there to show [we wanted to win].”
Despite a Richard Kriel brace of tries coupled with Nico Steyn’s touchdown, the Lions were undone by errors and let Scarlets dictate the tempo.
“I don’t think they wanted it more, I just think they were more accurate than us,” Van Rooyen said. “Too many errors, again an easy try from them. They probably won the breakdown battle today… because of our errors they dictated the tempo of the game.”
Scarlets flyhalf Sam Costelow’s boot, a brace from fullback Blair Murray and a late try from Johnny Williams punished a Lions side that again flattered to deceive.
STATE OF THE URC: SA teams gallop down home stretch
“It feels like, sitting here emotionally currently, the easy answer is yes,” Van Rooyen admitted when asked if inconsistency defined their 2024-25 campaign. “When we get it right with patches in the game, we’re really effective… and in the next set, not that effective.”
The Lions sit 13th on the log heading into their final round clash against Ospreys on Saturday — an opponent they’ve beaten twice in three meetings. With nothing tangible on the line, Van Rooyen is urging the squad to finish with conviction.
“It’s a difficult question,” he said, reflecting on the season. “Our biggest responsibility is to equip players with the skill set and the understanding to play and perform under pressure.
“We all feel this expectation of how good we can be. Because of one or two things or consistency, we’re not there yet… but the excitement of where we can be is still real, so there’s a lot of caring from the players.”
Photo: Euan Cherry/Getty Images
The post Cash: It’s the 0.1% that’s frustrating appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.