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Johannesburg - Auto and General Lions coach Dick Muir believes the problem has been identified, and his side won’t “leak tries” against the unbeaten Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.
After last weekend’s 18-try orgy at Coca-Cola Park, where the Lions were beaten by the Chiefs 72-65, Muir staunchly defended his side’s defence in the high-scoring game.
However, in a windy Wellington where the weather conditions may make it more difficult to run the ball from anywhere, as well as the fact that the Hurricanes are some of the best finishers in the business, Muir at least admitted his defence needs work.
Much of this week’s training sessions will be spent on defence with the Lions looking to at least resemble some structure in their play in order to get onto the right side of the scoreline.
One thing is certain, Muir believes the comeback from 65-25 down to finish within seven certainly did wonders for the side’s self-confidence, something he will be hoping will filter into the defence as well.
“We certainly did not cover ourselves in glory in defence,” Muir told Supersport.com, “We’ve had a look at the game and we’ve carefully assessed where the mistakes are. We have fixed it, we operate in a system where we want to improve and we need to make sure we don’t leak tries this weekend.”
Still, Muir’s free-flowing approach to the attack is what brought his side back into the game, and there is little evidence the Lions will veer away from this. Their motto of scoring more tries than the opposition may be high-risk, but Muir is sure it will bring benefits rather sooner than later.
“It depends how you look at things,” Muir mused, “If you want to be positive and see it as an opportunity, then the attack went very well. Our policy is to show constant improvement and we want to carry that on this weekend.”
The Lions are likely to make a few forced changes, with Jacques Lombaard likely to replace Willem Stoltz, who has been suspended, and Robert Kruger filling in for Jonathan Mokuena on the bench.
