LIONS OUT TO RETURN TO THE TOP

JACQUES VAN DER WESTHUYZEN

COULD this be the year for the Lions?

Fans of the Joburg-based team will certainly hope so as Super Rugby turns 25 years old.

The latest edition of the competition kicked off yesterday, with local interest focused on the derby in Durban between the Sharks and Bulls. For Lions fans, though, who want to get an early look at their team, a long day is in store.

A late change in the kick-off time in Buenos Aires, where the Lions are first up against last year’s losing finalists, the Jaguares, means the match will only get under way at 1am tomorrow morning.

It’s a young and new-look Lions team that will run out this year, with several star players no longer involved. Now led by

Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies, the Lions still have a few seasoned campaigners in their ranks – such as Courtnal Skosan, Marvin Orie, Dylan Smith and veteran prop Jannie du Plessis – but the majority of the side is made up of several rising stars of South African rugby.

After being competition runners-up three times in a row between 2016 and 2018, the Lions finished ninth on the log last year and missed out on a place in the knockout rounds. They will hope to return to more lofty heights again this year under new coach Ivan van Rooyen, who will be feeling the pressure from the start. Chairperson of the Lions Rugby Company, Altmann Allers, made it clear recently he is desperate to win the Super Rugby competition and said the Lions would keep at it until they achieved their goal.