Africa-Press – South-Africa. Departing Lions centre
and captain Burger Odendaal reckoned he may have played his best ever game for
the Lions when they routed the Ospreys 45-15 at Ellis Park on Friday.
Odendaal, who will be
heading to Wasps, didn’t score a try-out of the seven the hosts ran past the
Men in Black in their United Rugby Championship clash, but kept on asking
questions of the defence throughout the game.
The visitors also
chose to attack the 10 or the 13 channels, something that allowed the Lions to
defend easier than expected.
RESULT
| United Rugby Championship: Lions v Ospreys
Odendaal lived in the
moment, but knew they’d have to prepare for next week’s home challenge against
Edinburgh. “It probably was my best game in a Lions jersey, but I won’t
linger on it for too long,” Odendaal said.
“There’s the
saying that you’re only as good as your last game because there’s a new
challenge next week.
“I told the guys
it’s nice to have the Saturday and the Sunday off, so we’ll enjoy the win and
start again on Monday.”
None of the seven
tries the Lions scored went to Wandisile Simelane, but Odendaal said the aim
was to create space for Edwill van der Merwe and Sibahle ‘Rabz’ Maxwane.
United Rugby
Championship Log
The wingers scored at
opposite ends of the game, with the other tries going to Manuel Rass, a brace
for Morne van den Berg and Francke Horn.
Odendaal said they
needed to create space for their outside backs to thrive, which is what they
did on a cold, but a lung-busting night for the visitors.
“I think he got a
bit loose on the field because there was a lot of space, especially on the
outside,” Odendaal said.
“We actually
challenged ourselves to create space on the outside for Rabz and Edwill with
the fullback or just spread to them.
“I think it
worked for us, and we capitalised on their mistakes. I think the display was
awesome, and it was clinical.”
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