RUCK N ROLL
GAVIN RICH: Travel gives Lions little chance in final, but they are in it
The Crusaders’ muted celebrations at the end of their semifinal win over the Hurricanes suggest they feel their job is not yet done. But they would have been alone in thinking that the later game in Johannesburg had lost much of its relevance. There is a reason South African teams have no record of success in New Zealand Super Rugby playoff games. Until the organisers of the competition schedule a two-week break before the final there will remain an air of inevitability about the showpiece game of the season when there is a big travel element involved. At the same time Lions captain Warren Whiteley had it right with his comment — when you are in the final, you give yourself a chance. It reminded me of a column former Wallaby captain Dick Cocks, who also captained Natal and was then a Natal selector, wrote in a Durban newspaper on the morning of the 1990 Currie Cup final between Northern Transvaal and Natal at Loftus Versfeld.Natal were given as little chance then as the Lions will b...
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