Brotherhood will have to wait for now

After becoming “brothers’’ during the June international break, Springbok team-mates are now expected to go hammer and tongs at each other in the Super Rugby competition.

Bok coach Allister Coetzee said he is expecting nothing less from potential Super Rugby play-off qualifiers like the Lions, by some distance, as well as the Stormers and the Sharks to leave their newly found “brotherhood’’ behind when the competition resumes this weekend.

After a hugely successful June Test series where the Boks put a 3-0 whitewash past the French, Coetzee said players in the squad of 31 will now have to maintain their form, otherwise stand the risk of losing their treasured places.

“The focus now shifts to Super Rugby,” said Coetzee after the grinding 35-12 win in the third Test over France at Ellis Park in front of a packed 55 820 stand at the weekend.

And while there’s a common belief that the French were below their best it shouldn’t take anything away from the newly-found passion and commitment in the national side.

“First it was said we only managed to beat their B side at Loftus, then we beat the A side in Durban and followed it up with a win at Ellis Park, which was then called a dead rubber,” said Coetzee.

But the coach said the harmony and unity in the squad was the biggest positive from the series win and furthermore it was built on locally players starting in all of the three Test matches.

“The players in the Bok side will now really have a go at each other in the local derbies in the Super Rugby competition,” added the Bok coach.

“But they are brothers now and I would really like to see one of the teams win Super Rugby.”

The Lions are in the best position to do just that, but it will all depend whether they will have home status deep in the play-offs.

Being currently in a sound position they are perfectly placed for a home quarterfinal and should they win that, a home semifinal to follow.

But, and it’s a big but, if the Crusaders don’t lose somewhere along the way the Lions could again be faced with an away final if they manage to get that far and we all know what happened last year against the Hurricanes.

The Sharks and Stormers could also surprise along the way.

But one feels all the heavy odds are being placed on the Lions.