Assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher says Jordan Hendrikse’s savvy game management was crucial to a Lions’ performance that was efficient, if not flashy, in beating Perpignan on Sunday.

Flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse kicked 23 points to go with a try from winger Rabz Maxwane which helped the Lions beat Top 14 outfit Perpignan 28-12 at the Stade Aime Giral on Sunday.

While some criticised the lack of pazzaz in the match, Loubscher celebrated the efforts of a youthful team in finding a way to win, and he singled out the performance of Hendrikse.

“It was great to see Jordan walking away from that game as the man of the match, we know what he can do,” said the Lions assistant coach. “The big thing was just to give him the opportunity to play, to show what he can do. He controlled the game nicely – we had scoreboard pressure all the time, and he played in the right areas.”

Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg, who remained in SA with several other key players defended the Lions’ tactics.

“If you go to France and expect to throw the ball around and go edge-to-edge, it’s not that easy,” he said. “We went there with the right mindset. We played in their half, isolated them, which forced them to make mistakes, and we took the points.”

“It was winning rugby, not ugly,” added Loubscher. “We had a look at Perpignan, and they are a team that loves to counter-attack, so our game plan against them was to focus on our game management, turn them around, and use our defence against them as a weapon. We got away with a good result, and I think the plan to send a different squad worked well for us.”

The home-based group are expected to feature prominently in the Lions team chosen to battle Newcastle at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Photo: Valentine Chapuis/Gallo Images