Lions got a ‘wake-up call’
The Lions’ semi-final against the Cheetahs was far closer thany many had predicted, having trounced the Bloemfontein side earlier in the round-robin stages.
|||The big positive to come out of the Lions’ narrow 43-33 semi-final win against the Cheetahs was the “wake-up call” his players needed ahead of this weekend’s final showdown with Western Province at Ellis Park.
“We’d gone into the game with a record of 10 out of 10, having not lost in the season, and were up against a side who’d just squeaked into the play-offs and maybe the guys were a bit too relaxed,” said head coach Johan Ackermann after a semi-final that was far closer than many anticipated.
“I’m not at all worried, however, about the players’ form ahead of the final. I would have been far more concerned had we won with a big score, as many thought we would, because then complacency could have set in.
“Western Province showed with their win over the Bulls on Friday they’re a team to be taken very seriously. On top of that they’re the defending champions. We’ll put our worst performance (at the weekend) behind us now and focus only on what lies ahead. The rustiness that may have been in the players will hopefully be gone this week. The players would have had a big wake-up call.”
The Lions will contest the final on home soil against Western Province – repeat of last year’s final at Newlands, which the hosts won – after the Capetonians got the better of the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
In a game that never reached any great heights, Western Province scored two tries to nil against the Bulls, with fullback Cheslin Kolbe scoring one and playing a major hand in Jano Vermaak’s late five-pointer.
At Ellis Park, the lead changed no less than seven times over the 80 minutes, with Lions skipper Jaco Kriel getting two of his team’s four tries and flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff kicking nine out of nine shots at goal. It was, as Ackermann, said, the Lions’ worst performance of the season; perhaps because the majority of players had sat out the week before because the Lions had already qualified for the play-offs?
“It may have played a part in the performance, but I don’t think it was the key factor. We just made too many basic mistakes ... our handling was poor, we lost ball in contact, too many passes went behind the back, the decision-making was poor.
“There were just stupid mistakes all-round. The players weren’t sharp and they didn’t look as focused as they’ve been all season. Maybe they were a bit complacent, maybe they were a bit lethargic ... but we now know we can’t afford to be any of those things this week.
“The good thing is we won even though the performance was bad. Everyone will just have to look at themselves this week and lift their game ... we’ll be better next Saturday. I know the guys will be hard on themselves and ensure the intensity is raised for the final.”
Kriel, who was outstanding in turning the game in his team’s favour in the second half, said the pride and passion in the Lions jersey had been lacking at stages against the Cheetahs.
“The Cheetahs made life tough for us, but then we didn’t help our own cause very much. The pride and passion we’ve played with this year was lacking in the first half on Saturday, but once we found that in the second period things got much better for us.”
The only injury worry for the Lions ahead of the final is, unfortunately, Kriel, who’s nursing a groin strain. More on the injury will be known today.
RESULTS
Lions 43, Cheetahs 33; Bulls 18, WP 23
FIXTURE
Lions v WP (Saturday, 1.45pm)
* Ticket sales for the Currie Cup final at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday between the Xerox Golden Lions and DHL Western Province (1.45pm kick-off), go on sale to the public tomorrow from 8am. Strictly no tickets will be sold to the public before this time.
Season ticket holders can purchase their seats today. Season ticket seats not taken up by 8am on Thursday will be released to general public.
If a season ticket holder renews his ticket for 2016 he will receive a final ticket free of charge.
New season ticket buyers will also get a final ticket for free, but one block will be allocated for this.
Ticket prices for the final are :A: R300; B: R250; C: R150; D: R100 - The Star