Lions scramble for solutions amid fresh injury concerns
REACTION: The Lions are in dire need of solutions following their 3-33 defeat to Munster on Friday.
The Lions were clearly out of their element. In wet and windy conditions at Musgrave Park in Cork, the side's attack was non-existent.
The defence limited Munster's onslaught to just five tries but they failed to score any.
They did manage to enjoy ascendency at scrum time, however overall it is a very frustrating result for the Johannesburg side.
Speaking to reporters, head coach Ivan van Rooyen said despite the disappointing defeat, the Munster team were far from 30 points better than his side.
He believed his team put the Munster side under loads of pressure at scrum time and should've been rewarded for their efforts by referee Hollie Davidson.
"We felt like we did not capitalize enough on the wind in the first half," Van Rooyen said.
"We didn't get the rewards we deserved after that third repeated scrum [in the first quarter of the match].
"We felt we had the ascendancy in that instance going forward and the decision probably proved a bit of a momentum-stopper. If we managed to score five of seven points there we might've really put Munster under pressure."
He added: "Obviously with the wind, we wanted to play a bit more territory and at stages, we managed to do that but on other occasions, we overplayed a bit.
"Early in the second half the wind settled down a bit which allowed us to play a bit more. And again managed to put on some pressure however were forced an attacking off-loads and ended up back in our own half, so the errors were expensive.
"We are disappointed with the results. It's not nice against a good Munster team that's really been in form.
"However I didn't feel like they were 30 points better than us given the talk in the changeroom, but they were very good in capitalising on their opportunities."
New ideas for a new challenge
The Lions will now set their sights on the European Challenge Cup, where they will face Stade Francais in Paris.
"It is important for us to prepare well for the match against Stade Francais, who are currently second on the Top 14 log," Van Rooyen said.
"It is going to be a tough challenge, but hopefully the weather conditions are better next week so we can play a little bit more.
"Think it is important for us to pull together as a group and find solutions in preparation and on the field."
Doubts over key duo
The Lions will be sweating over injuries sustained by two key playmakers.
The side already sits with a long list of injuries as props Sithembiso Sithole and Ruan Dreyer, lock Reinhard Nothnagel, No.8 Francke Horn, scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba and wing Sibahle Maxwane are all currently unavailable.
To make matters worse, they were dealt two further blows with injuries to Jordan Hendrikse and Henco van Wyk.
Hendrikse left the field in the first half with what appeared to be an ankle injury, while Van Wyk was ushered off in the third quarter with a possible knee injury.
"Jordan and Henco are pretty sore," Van Rooyen said.
"We are travelling for quite a long time [on Saturday] and the injuries have to settle a bit for 48 hours, so that's why we're waiting a bit.
"We hope it's not too bad."
After the Challenge Cup match against Stade Francais, the side will take on Dragons before wrapping up their four-week tour with a clash against the Irish province Connacht at the Sportsground in Galway on January 28.