Stripped of hype, rugby’s realities laid bare
It was hard not to buy into all the hype surrounding the Lions of late. Building on an unbeaten Currie Cup campaign, the Pride of Joburg continued their exciting brand of rugby into the Super Rugby season. In three successive weeks in April, they outclassed the Sharks, Stormers and Kings to prove that they are true contenders for the crown of the best local franchise.
The outstanding form of their stars is also duly noticed every week with as many as nine Lions featuring in the television pundits’ Springbok barometers. Not to mention a large contingent of Bok fans so chuffed with their style of play that they were pushing for Jo- han Ackermann instead of Allister Coetzee to succeed Heyneke Meyer as national coach despite his inexperience.
In general, Bok fans are keen to draw a line underneath the Meyer regime and are hopeful for an exciting new era that they figure should obviously be fizzing with a strong Lions flavour.
Therefore the shock loss at the hands of the Hurricanes on Saturday wasn’t just a rude awakening for Lions supporters, but a harsh reality check for the rugby public as a whole. Had it been a close defeat after a hard-fought battle, it would have been a different story altogether, but a snotklap does not look good at all.
As hard a pill this thrashing was to swallow, it doesn’t make the Lions a poor side all of a sudden. Neither will it dent their stars’ possible inclusion in the Bok squad or diminish Ackermann’s credentials.
But what it does do is highlight the apparent gulf between New Zealand and South African rugby. Hell, the Canes are not even the best side in New Zealand ... or second best for that matter as they trail both the Chiefs and Crusaders in the Kiwi conference. And they had to make the arduous journey from New Zealand last week, a long-standing South African Super Rugby excuse.
One of the selling points of the new uber-confusing system rugby bosses sold the public ahead of the new 18-team format was that two SA sides could have home ground advantage in the quarterfinals as opposed to only one from New Zealand and Australia.
The harsh reality of this prospect is that as things stand, the Lions and Stormers could host the Hurricanes and the Crusaders in the play-offs. The very same Lions who had just conceded a cricket score and Stormers who couldn’t even use their their home-ground advantage at the weekend to beat a mediocre Waratahs side. That is not to mention the possibility of the winners packing their bags for a trip to face the high-flying Chiefs in the semifinals.
And should the Stormers and Bulls reach the quarters, they face the daunting prospect of taking on Kiwi opposition for the first time in this year’s competition.
Last year Meyer downplayed the poorest season South African franchises had in the history of the southern hemisphere competition by saying we mustn’t read too much into it. It turned out to be one of the poorest seasons ever for the Boks as well.
Good luck Allister, good luck.