Squad rotation contributing to Lions’ inconsistent form

While the Springboks get the opportunity to chase the sun, the Lions, albeit in lower orbit, are in pursuit of consistency.

This season they have lost slightly more than half their matches and their form has generally been capricious.

Sure, they had a five-match unbeaten run and lost four in a row directly thereafter but their actual match-day performances have fluctuated.

Where their displays at the start of the season were more consistent, with their first five matches finishing within five points, only two in their next 12 were that close. It has since been famine or feast for the Lions.

Their most recent form of two wins and as many defeats reflects the exasperation and ecstasy their fans have experienced this season.

“We had some good performances and some tough performances,” acknowledged Lions scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys in the build-up to Saturday's Challenge Cup round of 16 clash against Benetton Treviso.

“We've also had some performances where we let ourselves down. The team is still developing with senior players like Willem [Alberts], [Ruan] Dreyer and 'Boeboes' [Andries Coetzee]. That's the one fix-it for us.”

Redelinghuys pointed to the highs against the Sharks and Connacht but opined they had let themselves down against the Ospreys.

“That is a big learning curve. It helps when you get that confidence where you win three, four, five games in a row. Consistency is our challenge, to get it week in and week out.”

The Lions have sought to develop their existing player base. The workload has been shared through regular rotation but in the short term it has come at a cost.

Redelinghuys explained they are addressing that on the training field. “With a big squad our training standards are improving. When you train 15 against 15 you raise the standard. That is big for us. Senior players also help building confidence on and off the field.”

Consistency has also been hard to come by due to a playing schedule that takes into consideration internationals competition like the Six Nations.

“If you get momentum you want to keep it. You don't get that playing every second week or having a few weeks off. That's how we went through January and especially February.”

Redelinghuys believes touring has helped bond the team. Despite last weekend's setback against the Ospreys he is hoping they can return home with some momentum before a home run at Ellis Park, which the scrum guru hopes can be turned into a fortress.

This weekend their brief is simple. They don't have to go in pursuit of log points, they simply need to be ahead at final whistle. “We just need to win. Whether it is by one point,” he said about the knock-out clash in Treviso. “Look at the Springboks and how they won their knock-out games at the World Cup,” he pointed out.

He confirmed they are likely to rotate their squad against a team that has only lost at home to Glasgow Warriors this season.

Had they beaten the Ospreys at home in the pool stages of the EPCR the Lions would have played this weekend's fixture at home. “Now we are sitting overseas not knowing if we are playing three or four games on tour,” said the former prop. “We have a lot to consider. The fortunate thing is we are finding ourselves. We have built quite good squad depth. If we do rotate, it feels like we are playing a guy that has been knocking on the door for a long time. Every time we've done that there have been individuals who have put up their hand, which is great.”

The Lions lost in Treviso earlier in the season but perhaps more alarmingly for the tourists they take an unflattering record of two wins from their last seven matches into the clash.