Fidelity ADT Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi pinpointed ill-discipline and missed scoring opportunities as the core reasons behind his team's narrow 29-27 defeat to the Toyota Cheetahs in Round 1 of the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division.
Despite the loss at the Free State Stadium on Sunday, Nkosi remained highly optimistic about the character and fightback shown by his youthful squad.
“The result is obviously not what we wanted it to be, but there are many positives to take from it,” the head coach said. “I felt particularly in the second half that we played really well when we had the ball in hand, and our defence improved during the second stanza.”
“Our ill-discipline was probably our undoing in the end and our inability to finish two scoring chances. We created six 22m entries and converted only two in the second half. Even in the final play, had we kept the ball for a phase or two extra, we could’ve gotten over the line, and we would’ve been having a different conversation.”
The Lions led 27-26 late in the game before a 74th-minute penalty by Jaco van der Walt gave the Cheetahs the final edge.
Nkosi put the result into context by praising the squad's immense depth. The matchday 23 featured 13 debutants, including 11 stepping up directly from the Under-21 ranks. Outside centre Likhona Finca was a major standout, scoring a spectacular hat-trick on his debut to keep the Lions ahead deep into the second half.
“We wanted to prove a point,” Nkosi added. “We had 13 debutants, and you have to put that into context, including 11 U21 players, so a lot is going for us. But that only counts if we get the desired result. Guys like Likhona Finca showed what they’re capable of, as did many guys who came off the bench. I think Victor Sekekete, for example, has more caps than our whole team combined, so there are plenty of positives we can take from this game.”
Looking ahead, the youthful Lions squad will soon be boosted by the return of eight Junior Springboks who recently successfully defended their World Championship title.
“We had eight Junior Boks in that team, and seven of them started in the final,” Nkosi noted. “Again, it bodes well for us if we make it count. Hopefully, there’s a clean bill of health, and I’m sure we’ll see one or two of them get selected over the next seven or eight weeks.”
