Tourists seek missing formula

PAUL O’CONNELL is desperate to find a way to transfer his British & Irish Lions form on the training field to the pitch before the three-Test series with the Springboks starts in two weeks’ time.

For the second Saturday running the Munster skipper was left “disappointed” at his side’s performance. First, it was the uninspiring 37-25 opening win over the Royal XV and then Saturday’s two-point triumph over the Free State Cheetahs.

With the fixtures getting harder and harder as the first test in Durban on June 20 rapidly approaches, O’Connell wants his players to find the formula that will allow them to transfer their form in training to more convincing performances on the playing field.

“I am disappointed for the guys because beforehand we had a great buzz. They were very enthusiastic to play hard and play well for each other,” said O’Connell.

“But for nine of the players it was their first game for a long time, so to get away with the win, even though it wasn’t a fabulous performance, is a good thing. Now we have to find a way to take that buzz off the training field into our matches.”

The Lions leader also knows his side must improve at the breakdown to stand any chance of repeating the 1997 Test series triumph enjoyed by Martin Johnson and his men.

“We started off very well and after Wednesday’s game maybe people thought it was going to be more of the same. But after that they were stung into action and played very well,” he added.

“Maybe we stopped putting as many numbers to the breakdown as we were. You can get very technical about the breakdown but you need numbers there, you need to be low and aggressive and get beyond the ball – we didn’t do that all the time.

“They were very good there and stunted a lot of what we were doing. We were playing phase after phase and they turned over the ball quite well.

“Some of the decisions at the breakdown were a bit strange. It is important for us and something we will have to work at because the South Africans are very good in that area, When we held onto the ball we looked quite good, but turn overs can kill you, take momentum out and give the other team belief, which they did.”

O’Connell’s Munster and Ireland lock partner Donncha O’Callaghan finally got his first outing of the tour after waiting for two weeks in South Africa. He was an impressive force at the front of the line-out, and enjoyed getting involved at last.

“Getting a run out was great. It was a difficult game and it was pretty physical,” said O’Callaghan.

“We needed the next score after going 20 points up to get some real separation between us and them. If we’d done that they may have lost a bit of hope. When we played to our pattern we had them off their feet, but Heinrick Brussow, their number six, was very good. He would make a tackle, get back onto his feet and then go looking for the ball.

“It is something we are going to have to get better at ourselves. With the game we are trying to play we are going to have to arrive at the breakdown and make a real impact.”