Experience helped get Lions to final but they have more options now

The Lions’ decision to place more emphasis on the Currie Cup compared to their United Rugby Championship (URC) counterparts has perhaps been vindicated before a ball is kicked in Saturday’s final against the Sharks.

They reached their first final since 2019 by beating the Cheetahs last weekend and their path has been largely cleared by the deployment of talent steeled in the rough and tumble of the URC.

Not that the Bulls and Sharks haven’t made generous use of their URC talent.

With fewer Springboks than the other top franchises, the Lions perhaps needed to spread game time across their group and not solely look at the Currie Cup as a means of meeting developmental objectives. Detractors will argue the tail end of the next URC may prove a significant hurdle for the Lions with the amount of game time loaded into their players.

Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi, however, argues the campaign has been good for their entire group and that more players are now ready for the rigours of the URC.

“We have created an environment with 35 players who gained experience from a first-class point of view. The URC coaches have a group of players to pick from,” argued Nkosi.

The coaches will certainly have a few head scratches in selection when the Lions kick off their URC campaign against Ulster at Ellis Park next Saturday week.

The emergence of blockbusting flank Renzo du Plessis in particular has enthused Lions’ fans. “Renzo du Plessis didn’t play Currie Cup last year, now he’s got one under the belt and now it is really tight between him and JC Pretorius,” said Nkosi about two players who are likely to feature prominently on a highlights reel.

Despite the departure of Jordan Hendrikse to the Sharks the Lions are still well stocked at flyhalf. “If we don’t start with Sanele [Nohamba] we can start with Kade Wolhuter or Sam Francis,” Nkosi pointed out. “We’ve built a bit of competition and healthier depth in a lot of positions. That will stand us in good stead in the URC and EPCR,” said Nkosi.

The Lions certainly made their URC experience count when it mattered in the Currie Cup. In their semifinal win they had to call on calm heads after they fell 14-0 behind. Their ability to troubleshoot helped them overcome the challenge of the Cheetahs who Nkosi was keen to remind, weren’t short of experience.

“Seven, eight blokes who won the Currie Cup last year,” the coach pointed out.

“We have a young group and we are not going to use that as a crutch. If you don’t play at your you best and you still get a result, it is all about the result. One team has a Monday review, the other assemble for a team photo.”

The Lions have been an attacking force thus far in the competition averaging a whopping 47.42 points in their last seven matches. Finals though, often call for a more pragmatic approach but Nkosi insists they are unlikely to drift from the game model that saw them secure a first Currie Cup home final since 2015.

“The way we play got us here and we have to live or die by it. We couldn’t do that in this match, we were a little suppressed, we couldn’t open it up,” he said about the semifinal.