Despite a determined shift, the Lions were unable to stem a vigorous and constant assault from Montpellier on Saturday night in their EPCR Challenge Cup.
Having travelled to the south of France with a squad full of fringe players, the Joburgers nevertheless accounted for themselves in the 13-3 loss. Indeed, despite the Rockroses controlling all aspects of possession and territory during the match, the Lions still managed to lead 3-0 at the half-time break, with the help of some desperate defending and timely interventions at the set pieces, mauls and breakdowns.
Unfortunately, the visitors lacked the necessary cutting edge to take advantage of their limited chances, especially during a 15-minute period in the latter half of the first stanza, when they had won important psychological battles, creating frustration among Montpellier, which gave them an opening to inflict real scoreboard pressure.
Eventually, the 193 tackles they were asked to make took their toll, as a brace of tries in the second half by Geoffrey Doumayrou and Paul Willemse secured Montpellier victory, robbing the Lions of a losing bonus point and snapping their four-match winning streak in all competitions.
Lions toothless on attack
In comparison, Montpellier were asked to make only 107 tackles, as the Lions failed to generate sustainable, positive attacking plays.
Even though Montpellier weren’t too flash with the 61% possession and 65% territory they did have – making a myriad of mistakes with sloppy handling and indiscipline – their relentless pursuit with ball in hand eventually won them the day.
“It was a fast-paced game,” said Lions scrumhalf Nico Steyn, after the game.
“Did we expect it? Yes, we did.
“If you look at the first 20, 30 minutes of the game, they threw everything at us. We just had to defend, and I think the team did really, really well to adapt quickly … I think the team did well.
The 21-year-old No 9 was arguably one of the standout performers for the Lions during the defeat on a bitterly cold evening, showing off a variety of his skills, focus and his maturity. Reflecting on their shortcomings during the match, however, Steyn appreciated the work rate and input the matchday 23 showed on the night.
Said Steyn: “One massive positive we can take from the game is our defensive effort.
“Every single guy on the field just stood their man and made their punches. They kept coming at us, but we didn’t stand back.
‘Scoreboard wasn’t on our side’
“We can really take that forward as a team. That shows the character we have as a team, to keep on fighting, even though the scoreboard wasn’t on our side.
“We made a lot of errors,” he continued. “We spoke about discipline, and it was one of the major things that cost us in the game. That is on us. We can fix that. It is in our hands. It is controllable.”
While a fringe 23 toiled away in freezing conditions, the first-choice players will have been enjoying balmy but wet weather in Johannesburg, preparing for a cup-defining clash against Welsh outfit the Ospreys this coming weekend.
The four sides that will progress to the round of 16 in Pool 2 have been confirmed after this weekend’s matchday – Montpellier on 14 points, Benetton on 11 and the Lions and Ospreys with nine points, respectively, but where they will qualify remains to be decided. Newcastle and Perpignan – on one point and zero – will have no say.
The Lions will, therefore, be looking for a full haul of points against the Ospreys on the final matchday, in the hopes of securing homeground advantage for as long as possible, and could be aided by the outcome of Montpellier’s visit to Benetton on Saturday.