Coach Ivan van Rooyen and captain Marius Louw pinpointed an adjustment in two key areas for the Emirates Lions’ comeback win against the Sharks, following their overturning of a 15-point first-half deficit through two second-half tries and two penalties and a conversion from Sanele Nohamba to claim a 20-18 victory.
“I think with the second half we managed to get a lot more territory, and we adapted really well to how we wanted to play," van Rooyen said.
“We felt that to give ourselves a chance we had to really be collected in the way that we execute our plan. But ja, it could’ve been two points the other way.”
He also credited the Emirates Lions' greater cohesion as the main reason for their come-back.
“The Hollywood Bets Sharks have world-class players, Ox is probably the best loosehead in the world currently, the same for Eben, while Lukhanyo in recent years has been the best No.13."
“To give ourselves a chance, we had to be really good as a collective in the way we execute the plan.”
“We felt, in the build-up, that this was an opportunity to get a win,” van Rooyen said.
“It speaks to the group’s belief, it speaks to the character and fight of the team something we can be proud of.”
van Rooyen also admitted they made some ‘adjustments’ to their gameplan at the halftime break.
“I think with the second half we managed to get a lot more territory, and we adapted really well to how we wanted to play."
“We felt that to give ourselves a chance we had to really be collected in the way that we execute our plan. But ja, it could’ve been two points the other way.”
Louw added: “The biggest thing in the first half was we allowed them to run at us, and we didn’t get off the defensive line. They got a lot of momentum off nine and just got numbers on us and played out the back and got on the outside of us."
“That happened about two, three times like that in a row and if you’re scrambling back like that, they’re a good attacking side and you will suffer."
“In the second half, territory played a big role and then our defence was a lot better, we got off the line, we tackled them back, and we knew that when we started tackling them back they’d start kicking the ball back at us."
“That’s exactly what happened or we got a penalty, and that’s how we got back into the game.”