'Disciplined' Lions beat internal drama to turn things around: 'Our rugby now talks'

Whether it's player-power becoming the dominant voice or there's truly a newfound understanding and synergy with their beleaguered coaching staff, the Lions have seemingly turned over a new leaf after the drama of the MyPlayers survey of late last year.

The saga exploded a fortnight ago as allegations of poor appraisals for Ivan van Rooyen and some of his deputies surfaced, along with suspect logistics on January's trip to Europe.

With on-field results declining rapidly, the writing seemed on the wall.

But Saturday's momentous 29-25 victory over the Bulls at Loftus - the Lions' first URC triumph over a South African team in over a year - allied with a last week's positive result over Glasgow suggest a turning point.  

"The last two weeks did the talking in that regard, we're focusing on the rugby because that's something we can control and what's being written on that," said Van Rooyen.

"Hats off to the players for doing that the past few weeks."

READ | Sublime Sanele Nohamba scores 24 points as Lions stun Bulls at Loftus

The Lions took their opportunities well in the first quarter against a wayward and lethargic Bulls combination and defended like trojans in the latter stages as Jake White's troops mounted a fightback.

In fact, composed best describes how the men from Doornfontein managed to preserve their advantage, quite skillfully absorbing pressure at vital stages.

Improved discipline is also helping, particularly in terms of preserving the fire in the bellies because fatigue isn't creeping in.

Man of the Match, Sanele Nohamba gives us his thoughts after a sublime individual performance.#LionsPride ?? pic.twitter.com/3bESYoSWmY

"That's the point of difference from January, we've tightened up our discipline and we're not giving