After the Lions' narrow 34-27 loss to the DHL Stormers in the United Rugby Championship, Lions' head coach Ivan van Rooyen was encouraged by his team's performance, highlighting their character and fight despite the defeat. He felt the Lions "played well enough to get the win" and that the result came down to small margins.
Van Rooyen is confident the team can build on this performance as they prepare for their next match against the Sharks on January 03 2026.
“I think we played well enough to get the win. For one or two moments, the ball bounced back 30 metres off the cricket pitch. That’s the game; it was really small margins.”
“I’m really proud of the effort and really proud of the solutions we found.”
Van Rooyen expressed immense pride in his team's effort, character, and fight over the entire 80 minutes, especially after losing two No. 5 locks to injury within 20 minutes.
He attributed the loss to “one or two moments” and small margins, including the “bounce of the ball” and a couple of marginal referee calls that didn't go their way.
“One or two calls that could’ve gone either way probably didn’t go our way, and I think that was probably the difference.”
Van Rooyen said he saw the strong performance against the unbeaten, table-topping Stormers as a confidence booster and a “springboard” for upcoming matches, rather than a setback.
“We played against probably the most in-form team in world rugby.”
“After a performance like that, I’d be surprised if we get into a slump. I’m really proud of the effort.”