With the Lions set for an early exit in the United Rugby Championship, their coach Ivan van Rooyen, even though he is gutted by losing out, is excited about the franchise’s future.
On Saturday at Ellis Park the Lions narrowly lost 39-36 to Leinster, when they looked set for a win. Four tries in the first half from Edwill van der Merwe, Gianni Lombard, Francke Horn, and Marius Louw, plus a penalty try were not enough to put Leinster to bed.
Although they gained a losing bonus point, it was not enough to keep their hopes of a place in the playoffs. The Lions are in 10th place with 40 points on the log – mathematically, they can’t catch the eighth-placed Sharks, who have 46 points.
Speaking to the media during his post-match press conference, van Rooyen cut a dejected figure, his body language showed he was deflated, his eyes looked teary and his voice broke – he admitted to being sad for various reasons after the loss.
“The promising thing is in the last six to eight weeks we have shown potentially where we can be. We need to get five points to keep ourselves alive for the top eight,” said van Rooyen.
“I feel sorry for the guys after a season of hard work, seeing the intensity and intent in training, I wanted the guys to win for various reasons, to keep us alive because they have been working extremely hard and it was Jaco Kriel’s last home game,” he said.
The Lions have had a season of growth, with plenty of highs such as winning three games on their European tour, getting their first victory over a South African franchise since 2021 and the resurgence in the last few weeks.
“Cash”, as van Rooyen is known, is optimistic about the future.
“As sore as it is now, we are excited about where we are with the team, where we are going and the areas of growth – we are excited about next season. At one stage, I didn’t think we were good enough to beat the other South African teams, and at this stage, I think we can be competitive,“ Van Rooyen said.
The Lions will conclude their URC campaign on Saturday when they take on Zebre at Loftus Versfeld (1 pm).
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