Van Rooyen warns Lions must lift their game for Bulls derby

Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen knows his team will have to raise the bar significantly when they face the Bulls in next Saturday’s Jukskei derby at Loftus Versfeld.

The Lions made it two wins from two in the URC with a 35-19 bonus-point victory over the Ospreys at Ellis Park on Saturday, following their dramatic 27-26 win over defending champions Leinster in the opening round.

But Van Rooyen was in no mood to get carried away after his side overcame an error-ridden first half to score five tries after the break.

“Today’s performance won’t be enough against the Bulls next week,” he said. “It’s a typical derby, so it’s going to be massive set-piece, huge physicality.

“The Bulls have shown that they want to play a little bit more, which makes them dangerous, but there’s also opportunity.”

The Lions trailed 12-10 at half-time but responded emphatically, with their forwards taking control of the contest and helping turn the match in their favour.

Captain Francke Horn said the pack effectively decided at the interval that they needed to roll up their sleeves and take the game to the Ospreys.

“We came in at half-time and said, ‘Listen, it’s not working out wide for us today,’ and sometimes that does happen,” Horn said.

“The forwards said we need to roll up our sleeves and make sure we get some maul tries. If we have to go scrum, penalty, kick out, maul, penalty, kick out again and then score from a maul, that’s what we’re going to do. And that’s how we started the second half.”

Van Rooyen was particularly pleased with the way his players adapted after an untidy opening 40 minutes.

“The Ospreys are tough, they’re nuggety, they’ve got great character, and they will keep on coming back and keep on going if you’re inaccurate,” he said.

“We weren’t accurate enough. We lost some early lineouts, then you can’t build momentum and you can’t apply what we wanted to do in terms of plans.

“At half-time we really simplified and just said, ‘Find a way.’ We believe there’s a little bit of a crack, let’s go there and see if we can exploit it.

“It was a lot better in the second half, and I’m really proud of the guys for just finding a way.”

The Lions will draw confidence from last season’s 43-33 victory over the Bulls in Pretoria, but Van Rooyen expects a substantially different challenge this time.

“Last year, when we played them there, it was part of their transition period,” he said. “I think it will be very different this year.

“They’ve got some real speed out wide, they’ve got some good pack of forwards and grunt upfront. I think it will be a very different challenge.

“There’s one or two things we can draw from that, but we won’t be blind to know that it’s a new week, new opportunity and different game.”

The Lions could also have two returning Springboks available from the start, with scrumhalf Morné van den Berg and utility back Quan Horn both making second-half appearances against the Ospreys.

Van Rooyen indicated that it would be no surprise to see both in the starting XV against the Bulls.

“Probably,” he said when asked whether both would start.

The returns will create healthy selection headaches, particularly after Boeta Chamberlain and Nico Steyn impressed during the Lions’ opening two matches.

“I think Boeta has been a breath of fresh air for us; I think he’s been exceptional in the two games, and he can play multiple positions for us,” Van Rooyen said.

“Nico is also probably playing the rugby of his life, so it’s good, healthy competition for us.”

With nine points from their opening two matches, the Lions have made an ideal start to their campaign. But Van Rooyen knows the next test will tell him far more about where his team stands.

“Accuracy will be massive,” he said. “It’s a typical derby, so it’s going to be massive set-piece and huge physicality.

“We’ll take the five points, but we’ve got to get better because next week is going to demand it.”