URC quarter-finals: Van Rooyen hails historic milestone as Lions set sights on Leinster despite injury concerns

The Lions may have left Limerick in southern Ireland bruised after their defeat to Munster, but coach Ivan van Rooyen believes his side’s historic qualification for the United Rugby Championship (URC) play-offs marks another important step in the franchise’s steady rise.

The Johannesburg outfit secured a Top 8 finish for the first time in the URC-era, setting up a daunting quarter-final clash against Irish giants Leinster at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on May 30.

Van Rooyen admitted to a mixture of pride and relief after navigating a long and demanding campaign to finally achieve one of the squad’s key objectives, after their 24-17 loss to Munster this past Saturday.

“Obviously, it was a goal from the beginning,” he said, of finishing in the Top 8. “I think we’ve gradually been getting better.

Such a long season with so many challenges and ups and downs. So, to come at the end of the normal season and to be in the top eight is obviously a proud moment for us. Hopefully, we can keep on building momentum and just keep on getting better.”

The Lions pushed Leinster and Munster hard during their two-match tour, but once again paid the price for missed opportunities and lapses in execution at critical moments. Van Rooyen pointed to costly defensive errors against Leinster and poor accuracy in the set-piece against Munster as major reasons why the Lions failed to turn competitive performances into statement victories.

“(Saturday night) we had some opportunities again to score one or two tries more. We just didn’t,” he said. “And in the attacking zone, we lost a couple of line-outs, and then you can’t apply that attacking pressure.

Still, the coach believes there was significant value in facing two elite Irish sides immediately before the play-offs.

“We are talking about quality opposition, tough conditions and quality teams,” Van Rooyen said. “That is definitely Leinster away, Munster away.

"Like I said, consistently just not good enough for us to capitalise on that, but there is also enough positives to really get excited about that opportunity. I think in both fixtures, there were some good glimpses of good physicality, momentum, quick ball at stages because they can put you under so much pressure in these conditions." 

The Lions now face an anxious wait over several injury concerns ahead of their return to Dublin.

Powerful loose forward Ruan Venter appears unlikely to feature again this season after suffering what Van Rooyen described as a potentially serious knee injury, while prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye has also been a major loss.

“Both of them are part of our momentum givers and momentum stoppers,” Van Rooyen explained. “They’re really special in that regard. So if you lose that kind of player, obviously he does leave a void.”

The coach also confirmed concerns over injuries to Henco van Wyk and skipper Francke Horn, while Richard Kriel failed his HIA assessment but could still return for the Leinster clash.

Despite the setbacks, Van Rooyen backed the depth in the squad, calling on players such as Siba Qoma, Sebastian Lombard and RF Schoeman to rise to the challenge.

The Lions were still weighing up whether to remain in Ireland for the week or return to South Africa before the quarter-final, with recovery and injury management likely to determine the decision. But regardless of travel plans, Van Rooyen believes the enormity of facing the defending champions  in Dublin will provide all the motivation his side needs.

"It’s just can we rise to the occasion and can we find a way to play our game against them,” he concluded.