Following their 29-18 win over the Scarlets, Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen had no illusions of what they needed to do to beat Ulster on Saturday at Ellispark at 13:45.
“Ulster is one of the form teams thus far this season. They’re really looking good. Our cohesion on attack should allow us to utilise the pictures we created against the Scarlets as well as our attacking breakdown."
“We pride ourselves on our discipline and the number of penalties we want to concede and the pictures we want to show to the ref. So we need a clean-up there. We managed to wear the Scarlets out and get the result.
“When we got quick ball, we managed to put the Scarlets under more pressure. The half-time score didn’t reflect the opportunities we created, and we knew going into the second half we could exploit that.
“We also need to ensure we have consistency all around and ensure we’re all on the same page. Whether that’s attack, defence, or kicking set, it is.”
“Everyone knows what to do, whether we’re applying pressure and when we’re under it to get the best outcome for the team.”
Captain Francke Horn was a relieved man following the win. He admitted that the team has many work-ons, but that they’re treading in the right direction and building confidence in the process.
“Firstly, I’d say the feeling is one of relief. We’ve worked hard the last four weeks, although the results didn’t show it. We’re very grateful for the win.”
“It was a bit nervy at the end, but the guys kept calm and stuck to the plan, did the basics, and we secured the five log points.”
“There’s still a lot to fix. It’s one step closer to where we want to be; it’s not perfect yet, but this will build confidence in the team going forward.”