To say that the 10bet Lions have two massive challenges ahead of them as they encounter their first week ever in the Investec Champions Cup is a massive understatement, but they are looking to face them head on as they settle in France for their opening game against French giants La Rochelle.
For one, they need to overcome the shock of their 57-15 loss to the Vodacom Bulls this past weekend, a massive disappointment in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship game and a game they would have targeted for a win.
And then secondly, they need to settle in and not be overawed by the occasion of facing a team that has won the Champions’ Cup before, has a host of stars and is well favoured at home to win this opening encounter.
Many teams struggle to adapt to the noise of French stadiums, where they don’t rely on a deejay blasting music to entertain the crowd and rugby is the entertainment, with the crowd playing a pivotal role in getting the team to the victory.
South African stadiums could learn a few things from this, but the Lions will have to overcome this effect on Saturday if they are to stand a chance.
On the first one, it is natural for a side well-beaten to “close the door” on the result and not dwell on it beyond the review. That is pretty much what every side does, and whether the Bulls win left lasting damage waits to be seen.
“It was a tough review on Monday. Honest review. Just looking at fixes. What can we do, what do we need to do better? And yeah, it was just good to walk out of that meeting with honesty from our point of view,” Loubscher said.
“We were not ourselves, not good enough. Just too many errors from our side. We know this weekend is a different challenge. One of the top teams in Europe. So I think the main thing probably for us is to be looking for a response.That's what we're looking forward to this weekend.”
And on the second Loubscher has a unique point of view, having coached alongside Heyneke Meyer in France for a few seasons. He knows what the Lions will encounter and wants them to block out the crowd.
“Probably the one of the big things in France is probably the atmosphere, pregame. There's a massive vibe and then they play with a lot of passion at home. So I think the important thing for us is we need to really start well and just make sure we silence the crowd because they love to get their supporters behind them,” Loubscher said.
“And yeah, we know the collisions will be a big part of the game. Unstructured, they like to score the stars from everywhere. But I think from our point of view, we talked about it. There's just more of our intent, what we take into the game and just our execution must go a level up.”
That collision game was lost against the Bulls and was a massive factor on why they were smashed in the end. That simply has to be better. As does the defensive effort.
“I know it's gonna take a bit of time, just to just to get that cohesion and connection and I think maybe on Saturday and as I mentioned early on is that when you're not you're not executing your role or your job, then always you're gonna create those broken fingers or dog legs.
“ I think it's more for us just to get the connection, understand your role, execute your role, do your job. I'm looking forward to the next game and I'm sure that we're gonna get the right response from the players.”
The Lions qualified for the first time for the Champions’ Cup last season. Before that, their European action was limited to the ECPR Challenge Cup.