Van Rooyen: Lions Showed Good Fight In Edinburgh, But Must Stay True To Urc Identity

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen feels that it is not an effort thing that is affecting his team, but they were again well short of their best in their 24-12 Challenge Cup playoff defeat to Edinburgh on Friday night.

While the Johannesburg outfit were certainly better than in their 42-0 drubbing against Glasgow last week, their defence let them down again as they gifted a few tries too easily that led to a 17-0 halftime lead for Edinburgh.

The first five-pointer came after just 74 seconds through fullback Wes Goosen as Edinburgh easily outflanked the Lions in the wider channels.

Those kinds of glaring gaps must be addressed by defence coach Jaque Fourie if the Lions hope to reach the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals.

The visitors werent able to generate front-foot ball from their forwards, despite the valiant efforts of hooker Jaco Visagie, prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, lock Darrien Landsberg and No 8 and captain Francke Horn.