Lions struggles a 'team issue'

The Lions have acknowledged that they have been ‘way off’ their best in recent weeks.

Veteran prop Jacobie Adriaanse, speaking ahead of their Round Seven encounter with the Crusaders, a replay of last year’s Final said the Lions have to look at themselves first.

After starting with three wins – two of them bonus-point victories – things started to unravel in Week Four.

They lost (35-38) to the Blues in a horror show in which they coughed up a healthy lead.

They sneaked a 40-38 win over the lowly Sunwolves a week later, again taking a healthy lead before their own naivety resulted in the Lions having to hang on for dear life in the end.

Last week the Jaguares took revenge in Buenos Aires for their Round Two loss to the Lions, when the Argentinean franchise beat their Johannesburg-based rivals 49-35.

Adriaanse, who missed last week’s trip to Argentina due to an ankle injury, said watching from the sidelines when your team loses is never pleasant.

He said they had a good chat about the past three weeks’ poor performances, but used the terms “focusing on our process” and “ticking boxes” repeatedly – as he avoided pointing the finger at individuals.

He said it is a “team issue”.

“We must play as we know we can,” he said.

Asked about this Saturday’s encounter with the Crusaders, Adriaanse again stepped cautiously around the issue of what is really wrong with the team.

“In this competition, you want to measure yourselves against the best,” Adriaanse said.

“We must get our house in order and not try to adapt to what they [the Crusaders] bring.”

@rugby365