Lions hopes honesty is the best medicine as they aim to redeem themselves at Loftus

It's been a week of hard words being spoken in the Lions camp.

Stand-in skipper Jaco Kriel questioned the commitment of his team-mates following last weekend's poor showing against the Bulls at home, while defence coach Jaque Fourie labelled the tackling in that match as "terrible" and, revealingly, stated "you can't coach heart and attitude".

Having listened and absorbed all input, the Lions now hope the bout of all-round honesty will translate into a transformed showing at Loftus on Saturday.

Immediate second chance

"Our discussions this week were really to the point," said head coach Ivan van Rooyen.

"It was well received by the players, they showed great reaction and it was a good training week. We're definitely ready and looking forward to the game."

A week is, indeed, sometimes a long time in rugby, something Kriel hopes can count in their favour.

"Honesty can definitely bring out the best in players," said the forgotten Springbok flanker.

"We did an honest review on Monday to get all the bad stuff out of the way because we needed to start looking at a new week with new challenges. We're actually fortunate enough to get an immediate second chance against the same opposition in the same conditions.

"So yes, there isn't a lot that we've changed. We worked hard on the plan and are focusing on implementing it better."

'No punishment has been dished out'

That sense of introspection, however, hasn't been enough to save certain members of the backline in terms of their starting spots.

In fact, four switches - regular skipper Burger Odendaal is out with concussion though - suggests there was a distinct sense that players such as centre Wandisile Simelane, flyhalf Fred Zeilinga and wing Rabz Maxwane are underperforming.

Van Rooyen