Veteran prop Ruan Dreyer says the Lions have parked off-field issues to focus on making a fast finish to the season, a drive that begins on Saturday with a showdown against Glasgow. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Lions host the Warriors in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship clash on Saturday with the goal of salvaging a disappointing campaign reportedly blighted by claims of poor management.
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Reports emerged this week of an unhappy camp and players taking issue with the quality of coaching and operational inefficiency from members of the wider management team.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the reports broke, veteran prop Dreyer said that the Lions squad had a productive meeting on Thursday and came out of it eager to give a good account of themselves in the last five games of the season.
“We had a good meeting yesterday,” he said. “We have made it about the team going forward. It’s now just to focus game to game. Our future is in our own hands. We just want to put out a good performance.
“What we said yesterday: at the end of the day its up to us. We can’t complain if we don’t bring the results. We will leave the other stuff to the correct channels and keep fighting on the field. The guys are really playing for each other, it’s just the small margins and turning that into an 80-minute performance, making sure we get those points on the board.
“We as players have decided we have nothing else to lose. There are proper channels to handle the off-field. We have to make the best out of it on the field. Our future is in our own hands. If we stick together as a team we will grow closer and the results will start coming through.”
Dreyer was joined by scrum coach and former Lions prop Julian Redelinghuys, who gave further detail on where he thinks the Lions can improve and turn their season around.
“For us, rugby is a simple game. We have started well in most games, but in the second half we lose momentum, and dominance and make mistakes. The scoreboard reflects that due to our errors. For us its about an 80-minute performance.
“There have been games where we have done well in certain parts of the game, but not in others. It’s about making sure every aspect functions at the same time for 80 minutes. That will do the job for us.”
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