Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen praised his team for a supreme effort in dismantling the previously unbeaten Ulster side 49-31 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
It was hot and humid in the early afternoon encounter, and the Ulster side visibly tired as the Lions cranked up the pressure. The altitude also took its toll on the Irishmen.
“The guys played really well today,” Van Rooyen said. “There was a lot of effort. As tough as it was for them at two o’clock in the afternoon, it was tough for us. But I think as the game progressed, we got more efficient, our error rate went down.”
Van Rooyen said he had asked his players for a response after a difficult start to the URC, which saw the Lions lose their first three games and then labour to a dull win over the Scarlets last week.
“We challenged the guys this week and they responded,” he said. “We knew we had to lift our game because Ulster had beaten two good South African teams in the Bulls and Sharks, home and away.
“They showed their class in those games, so for us to get five points makes us very happy — but I’m more proud of how we did it, the hard work we put in.
“We can really build on this.”
The Lions were two points behind at half-time, but Van Rooyen said he was not concerned.
“We should have been ahead at the break. We had some really good pictures in that first half. We had very good sets both on attack and defence. They had an intercept try just before half-time — it was inches in the corner, otherwise we could have prevented the try. That shows how hard we are working.
“At half-time, we were quite technical in our talk. We were creating the right pictures; we just needed one or two changes. We knew we could put them under pressure if we were a little more accurate.”
The Lions go into the month-long break in the URC with two five-point hauls from the last fortnight. They will take strong momentum into their next match — the South African derby against the Bulls in Pretoria on 29 November.
