Bulou Mataitoga felt that Lightning took their foot off the gas in the second half, resulting in their 31-29 defeat to Sale Sharks on Saturday.
Despite a seemingly comfortable 17-5 lead at the break to northern rivals Sale on Saturday at Morson Stadium, the Sharks fought back quickly in the second period to score four tries and secure the victory over the African Violets.
“First half, we came out strong,” Mataitoga explained.
“It was a tough second half; in all honesty, they scored two tries right off the bat and levelled the score line.
“It was a tough one to take, but you’ve got to give credit to Sale; they are a great side, and to come back from a deficit like that is never easy. That’s just the game of rugby, I guess; it’s a full 80-minute game, and that was shown today.”
However, there were plenty of positives for Lightning to take away from the encounter, including two match points thanks to four excellent tries from Nathan Smith’s side, including one for Mataitoga herself in the closing minutes of the game as she gathered a pinpoint crossfield-kick from Carmela Morrall.
“When we’re on, we’re so on!” Matitoga continued. “When we’re pulling the ball out the back, like for Alev’s try, or when we’ve got tip runners off the shoulder running hard lines, we’re unstoppable.
“We just need more moments like that, but unfortunately, today wasn’t our day. Once again, credit to the other team, we just couldn’t respond how we needed to that second-half intensity, but at the end of the day, I’m really proud of us as a team.”
Lightning will look to bounce back as they return home this weekend for their only Friday Night Lights fixture of the season, as they host Harlequins at cinch Stadium on 13 March – to purchase your tickets, please click HERE!
Lightning last faced Harlequins in the season opener under the lights at the Stoop, which was one of Lightning’s highest scoring affairs of the season, and Matitoga is excited for the opportunity.
“We’re really looking forward to Friday Night Lights against Quins.” She added. “That first game of the season was such a high-scoring game, so we’re looking forward to something similar, but hopefully the result will fall our way this time.
“Friday Night Lights is always exciting to play, and back at home, I’m excited to get back out there, so we’ll rip into training this week and look ahead to going good on Friday.”