New-look Lions still shaking off rust
20 Jan 2013
Lions coach Johann Ackermann says his team has plenty to improve on following their 51-13 win against Russia.
The Lions scored seven tries (including two penalty tries) at Ellis Park, but it was far from a flawless performance, as you would expect from an early-season hit-out.
‘One particular area [of concern] was the restarts,’ said Ackermann. ‘When they kicked on us, we made it difficult to get out of our own half. It probably had a bit to do with the weather and we didn’t get to do what we planned.
‘There is definitely rustiness that we need to sort out and there were also new combinations and you could see as the game progressed we got a bit better.’
Ackermann will continue to test combinations before deciding who his regular starters will be.
Meanwhile, Lions captain JC Janse van Rensburg said the team knew things would get tougher from here.
‘Next week the level of the competition goes up playing against the Cheetahs, and we want to prove ourselves against the guys playing Super Rugby,’ he said.
LIONS FIXTURES:
26 January: vs Cheetahs, Ellis Park (5pm)
2 February: vs Bulls, Orlando Stadium (3pm)
9 February: vs Kings, Ellis Park (TBC)
23 February: vs Namibia in Windhoek (TBC)
16 March: vs Mont de Marsan, Ellis Park (7:30pm)
13 April: vs US Invitational, California (TBC)
20 April: vs North American Barbarians, Vancouver (TBC)
27 April: vs Chicago Lions, Chicago (TBC)
11 May: vs Agen, Ellis Park (3pm)
1 June: vs Samoa, Ellis Park (3pm)
8 June: vs French Barbarians, Ellis Park (2pm)
15 June: vs Stormers, Ellis Park (2pm)
21 June: vs Sharks, Ellis Park (7pm)
12 July: vs Montpellier, Ellis Park (7pm)
20 July: vs Grenoble, Ellis Park (2.30pm)
27 July: Promotion-relegation play-off, TBC (TBC)
3 August: Promotion-relegation play-off, Ellis Park (TBC)
2 Comments
20 Jan 2013, 17:38 pm
Irrelevant Dragon?
21 Jan 2013, 08:55 am
Congrats to the Lions. Good win. Expected a bit more from Russia, but this should be a good lesson for them.
It is unfortunate that the Cheetahs and Bulls would probably choose second-rate teams… can’t blame them. Too early in the season to take the chance with injuries, but it will be good games.
Even the Kings would probably do well not to choose their best players for this game. Will probably be a grudge match.
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