Currie Cup

Lions captain bemoans slow starts in Currie Cup

2019-08-06 20:18
Cape Town - Lions captain Ross Cronje admits they have been their own worse enemy in the Currie Cup this year, as they too often need to come from behind to win.
 
After their third straight come-from-behind win against the Cheetahs last weekend, Cronje said the team has to improve and cut out their slow starts if they want to go all the way and win the title.
 
The Lions may occupying second place in the standings, but their tendency to give away too many early tries could come back to bite them if they don't rectify the problem.
 
They managed to overturn a 19-0 deficit against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, and also came from behind to defeat the Pumas 38-37 and Western Province 30-28, but Cronje is wary of their luck starting to run out.
 
“We are making things hard for ourselves at the moment by allowing the opposition to score a few early tries,” he said.
 
“We’ve been on the back foot in all our games so far, so we need to figure out what has worked for us and where we need to change things.
 
“It’s back to the drawing board this week, so we can have a good look at ourselves.”
 
Despite his words of warning, Cronje was full of praise for his team and how they've managed to come back in those games, particularly the younger players in the squad who have really stood up.
 
“The fight in the guys has been unbelievable. They’ve brought some real energy into the team, and that’s been awesome,” he said.
 
The Lions face the Blue Bulls next, who are reeling after having lost three of their first four games.
 
Their only victory came in a 25-17 result over the Pumas two weeks ago, but that was followed up by a 37-15 loss to the Griquas over the weekend.

Read more on:    lions  |  currie cup  |  ross cronje  |  rugby

 

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Fixtures
Friday, 09 August 2019
Western Province v Phakisa Pumas, Cape Town 15:00
Saturday, 10 August 2019
Sharks v Free State, Jonsson Kings Park Stadium 15:00
Lions v Blue Bulls, Emirates Airline Park 17:15
Friday, 16 August 2019
Griquas v Western Province, Tafel Lager Park 19:00
Saturday, 17 August 2019
Phakisa Pumas v Free State, Mbombela Stadium 14:00
Sunday, 18 August 2019
Lions v Sharks, Emirates Airline Park 14:00
Saturday, 24 August 2019
Griquas v Lions, Tafel Lager Park 15:00
Free State v Western Province, Toyota Stadium 17:15
Blue Bulls v Sharks, Loftus Versfeld 19:30
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