Second-string Lions facing tough task
FORGET style, number of tries or whether it’s attractive. All that matters is that the Lions win against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires tonight.
They need the victory to finish top of the combined Super Rugby log to guarantee themselves home-ground advantage for as long as they remain in the knockout rounds of the competition.
Having already won Africa Conference 2, they are assured of playing at home at Ellis Park in next Saturday’s quarter-final, as well as the following week’s semi-final, if they progress that far.
Tonight’s result will determine whether the Lions finish the regular season with the most log points of the 18 teams and book a home final as well. A win will get them that; a defeat could mean they have to travel to New Zealand to contest a final, which would be their first in the history of this competition.
Who Johan Ackermann’s men will play at Ellis Park next week also depends on what they do against the Jaguares. Win, and they will play the eighth-ranked team, possibly the Sharks. Lose, and they may be up against the Hurricanes – a team that put 50 points past them not too long ago, and at Ellis Park, too.
But then, much will also depend on what happens in the two big New Zealand derbies this morning, where the Crusaders host the Hurricanes and the Highlanders welcome the Chiefs. Only three points separate the four New Zealand qualifiers, and all will play in the quarter-finals next week, but today’s results will determine the seeding going into those play-offs.
Only the most ardent of Lions fans, and Sharks supporters, too, will be awake around midnight tonight to watch Ackermann’s team in action in Buenos Aires.
A defeat may mean the Sharks having to pack to go abroad on Sunday night for their play-off, but Lions fans will be hoping that the Ross Cronje-led side will get the business done to finish first.
It is a big task for the socalled “second stringers” of the Lions because the Jaguares have hit good form since the international break and are always a difficult side to play against on home soil. But Ackermann fully believes his team can get a positive result, and why shouldn’t he after picking a side of mainly Currie Cup qualification players who have helped the Lions to four 50-plus wins in the past month?
Most of South Africa’s rugby fans will wake up tomorrow morning wanting to know only one thing – did the Lions win? It is not the be-all and end-all of their season, but a victory will certainly boost their chances of winning Super Rugby for the first time.
Meanwhile, pride will be at stake as the Cheetahs and Bulls clash in a dead rubber in Bloemfontein tonight, writes Vata Ngobeni.
The Cheetahs have nothing to lose and will be wanting to build some momentum for their Currie Cup campaign.
The motivation for the Bulls, having narrowly lost out on a play-off place, will be to confirm that the lessons of Super Rugby have been learnt.
It will be an emotional day for the sides as they bid farewell to some of their players.
The Cheetahs will part ways with Nicolaas van Dyk (Toulouse, France), Coenie van Wyk (Toshiba Brave Lupis, Japan), Henry Immelman (Montpellier, France) and Willie Britz (NTT Shining Arcs, Japan). The Bulls will no longer have the services of Dean Greyling (Oyonnax, France), Marcel van der Merwe (Toulon, France), Werner Kruger (Scarlets, Wales), Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg (Montpellier, France), Pieter Labuschagne (Kubota Spears, Japan), Deon Stegmann (Honda Heat, Japan) and Grant Hattingh (Kubota Spears, Japan).