Under pressure after poor results and on a five game losing streak, the Emirates Lions closed ranks around beleaguered coach Ivan van Rooyen, with one of the team’s biggest stars vowing to “fight” for the coach.
The Lions haven’t even come close to their self-proclaimed goal of making the top four this season and as things currently stand they are unlikely to make the top eight unless there is a mathematical miracle that goes their way.
But despite this, and six seasons now that Van Rooyen has been in charge, the rallying cry has been to defend the coach.
Springbok scrumhalf Morne van den Berg said it plainly on Tuesday afternoon, talking about the way the pressure builds up and hearing calls for change at the top at Ellis Park.
“To be honest, when it is not going so well, you stay away as far as possible. You don’t want those things to get into your mind,” Van den Berg said in response to a question about the team’s form and calls for change.
“But then it does filter through somehow, so you always hear it – somebody calling you, saying ‘What is going on there’?
“We know what is going on in the camp. We know the type of men who are leading us. We know who Cash is, what he stands for, and I am willing to fight for that. I am willing to fight for each and every coach, each and every player, and the beautiful thing is, they are willing to fight for us.
“So there is always going to be noise, and at this stage, it is loud. But inside here, in the union, we are tight and we are strong and we are willing to fight for each other. And I think that is the most important part of it.”
The Lions face Connacht this weekend and should they lose that, it will end any outside hopes they have of making the top eight. Connacht were unlucky to lose to the Stormers last weekend and will be aiming to take at least one scalp back to Galway with them, with the Lions being a prime target.
Van den Berg also pointed to the slump in the first half over the past few games, and said it was a frustrating talking point within the camp at the moment.
“The frustrating thing is that we’ve seen that pattern over the last few games. I can’t tell you what exactly it is. It definitely isn’t a lack of willingness, perhaps we are trying too hard. There are a couple of factors, and it is a pattern that we have seen in our last three or four games and something that we want to rectify.
“It is something that we spoke about the last four weeks, but it is really time that we stop speaking and start acting on it.”
And while the Lions had been proclaiming they would be at their best at the business end of the tournament, it seems their losing streak has them at a loss. Against Benetton they looked as if they were trying too hard to get a result, with the consequence that they made mistakes.
Van den Berg owned up to the mistakes, but believes that the Lions can still salvage something out of their season if they can hit form.
“In the middle of the tournament we would have thought we would have peaked in the last four games as well. We didn’t and we haven’t played well enough. That is something we have to fix in the present moment. We didn’t peak and that doesn’t say our best rugby isn’t ahead of us.
“I really believe that the players, coaches and everyone who is buying into this, this weekend we will give everything to be as good as we can be.
“Trying too hard was one of our faults and I can put my hand up here. That could have been a problem that I had this weekend, but we are all buying in to get that cohesion this weekend, to put a good foot forward and to finish the season off on a high.”
The Lions will name their side for the clash on Friday.