Hope for Bok revival to extend to Super Rugby
Coetzee urges franchise players to do even better
With the Springboks seemingly on track after a 3-0 series whitewash over France‚ the unfinished business of Super Rugby comes back into focus this week with only pride to play for.
The Lions have guaranteed top place in the Africa 2 conference‚ with nearest challengers the Sharks‚ unable to catch them at the top of the standings while the Stormers are secure as Africa 1 winners.
Those three teams will represent SA in the play-offs with only the matter of their opponents to be decided.
The Lions and Stormers will have home quarterfinals and the Sharks will travel to face the top New Zealand team.
The Lions‚ currently on 54 points‚ can reach a maximum of 64 log points.
That could be enough to secure the most log points across all conferences.
That is if the Crusaders (currently on 63 points) lose their final match against the Hurricanes without securing a bonus point.
The prize for either the Lions or Crusaders for finishing with the most points is a home final‚ if they progress that far.
Springboks coach Allister Coetzee though still challenged the South African teams and players in his Test squad to continue to strive for excellence.
Coetzee said players in the 31man Sprinbok squad could only play themselves out of the Test team in the coming weeks of Super Rugby‚ while he also noted that an overall Super Rugby win by one of the SA teams would be a boost for the national side.
“Last Thursday we had our top doctor (psychologist) working with us knowing we are going our different ways again and will be playing Super Rugby against one another over the next few weeks‚” said Coetzee.
“I have told them [the players] that there are 31 players in the squad and they can play themselves out of the squad. No one’s place is assured.”