When the Lions have gone behind early on in their games this season, they’ve struggled to come back and win.
|||The Lions and Hurricanes have wrapped up their preparations for the Super Rugby final; both teams enjoying their captain’s runs at Westpac Stadium in cold and wet weather on Friday afternoon.
The expected conditions have been a big talking point in the build-up to the match – the first final for the Lions and the third for the home team – and rightly so, but for Johan Ackermann’s men the start they make will be equally important.
In the playoffs in the last fortnight, the Lions went ahead early against both the Crusaders and Highlanders, they built their score while at the same time kept the pressure on the visitors and, in the end, won both their quarter-final and semi-final matches in convincing fashion.
But, when the Lions have gone behind early on in their games, they’ve struggled to come back and win – a case in point being their 50-17 defeat at the hands of the very same Hurricanes they face in tomorrow’s final. And, that match was at Ellis Park to boot.
Tomorrow, Ackermann will want his charges to be in the game early on, and even get ahead, because if they don’t things could unravel rather quickly – especially against a Hurricanes team that is said to be desperate to win the title. They lost against the Highlanders last year (21-14) and also to the Crusaders (19-12) in the 2006 final in Christchurch.
“Small margins decide a lot of these games,” said Ackermann in the build-up to the match.
“In the last match between us we forced passes, our execution was poor and some of our decision-making was just not good,” he said about his team’s biggest defeat this year.
“Really, one doesn’t want to be playing catch-up in Super Rugby ... and especially in a final. It’s when you’re chasing the game that passes are forced and the pressure builds ... and then mistakes are made. I’ve said it before this year and I’ll say it again ... the start we make on Saturday will be crucial.”
Ackermann has told his players to continue to play their expansive, attack-minded game, but he’s also said they must show patience and be strong in the contact areas. “The Hurricanes have probably got one of the best defences in the competition and earlier this year they really rushed us on our ball. We’re going to have to make good decisions this time ... know when to run, pass, and kick. But, we’ve got a few plans up our sleeves as well.”
The conditions are likely to be similar to those experienced on Friday ... that is cold, wet and windy. The temperature tomorrow is not forecast to get higher than seven degrees Celsius.
The match will see Victor Vito earn his 100th cap for the Canes before taking up a contract with La Rochelle, while for all the Lions players this will be their first shot at the title.
Have they got a chance? Of course they do. The pressure’s all on the Canes; the Lions have nothing to lose and go into the match on the back of winning momentum, something the Canes have, too, but the visitors are not a desperate side this week; the Canes are.
If the Lions make the good start Ackermann has spoken about, if they kick smartly and make their tackles they’ve got as good a chance as the Canes do of coming out on top. In fact, I’d say this Lions team have got the best chance out of all the other South African team’s who’ve gone overseas for a final and lost.
It should be a cracker-jack affair, in front of 37 000 fans. Here’s hoping South Africa, here’s hoping for a Lions win. - Independent Media
