Province come bearing gifts for Lions

THE losers had the semifinal lane permanently blocked, but the manner in which the Lions put up the roadblocks was dismissive and decisive.

The bunfight for play-off spots may prove difficult, but the Lions showed they still had the desire to defend their hard-earned title.

But they won’t come across defences as generous as Western Province’s on Friday.

Examples were two of the Lions’ first-half tries for which the hosts were given the freedom of the park.

Anthony Volmink’s hand in Andries Coetzee’s 19th-minute try where he ran the length of the field untouched and still found time to exchange passes before offloading the assist summed up Province’s lackadaisical defensive night.

It also explained why Province’s semifinal hopes were pretty much up in smoke after the first 40 minutes were concluded.

With 13 points from five matches and three rounds left, they can only finish on 28 points if bonus-point wins are accrued.

Western Province coach John Dobson knew his team could be outside the play-offs for the first time in eight years but said they had only themselves to blame.

“Getting into the semifinals is going to be tough and we need some of the other results to go our way. We also need to collect 15 points in our remaining matches and I don't think that will be very easy. At least we got two more tries and collected a bonus point.

“With the five points and avalanche of tries the Lions could and still should have a say regarding the destination of the Currie Cup. We’ll see in three weeks whether this bonus point works for us,” Dobson said.

The Lions will be required to defend their title the hard way if they get to the play-offs. They have a run-in that includes a trip to Bloemfontein on Thursday and a last-round date with the Sharks at home.

At least they have the certain five-pointer against the Kings on September 24 to cushion blows from those two tough matches.

Golden Lions coach Johan Ackermann was impressed with his team’s ability to win big at home. But with the Currie Cup table log-jammed, the Lions could be faced with the possibility of an away semifinal.

There is also a likelihood of the semifinals being postponed if the Sharks finish in the top two as King’s Park will be hosting the Springbok-All Blacks test on October 8.

“We're basically in knockout rugby now and John Dobson said it last week. Teams are so close to each other that one loss will directly impact your semifinal chances. We know we can’t slip up,” Ackermann said.