SA teams can restore our pride

The opening round of Super Rugby last weekend gave one a sense of quiet before the storm – and also a sense of déjà vu. The quiet before the storm came in the sense that only three South African sides were in action with the addition of the Jaguares.

And we all know the competition only comes alight when the New Zealand sides join the action as they are the ones who bring the excitement to the competition and make the blood start pumping.

With the sole exception being the SA’s Lions – and this is where the déjà vu comes into the picture.

Even though the Lions got pushed all the way by the Sharks, the Jozi franchise showed they will again be the beacon of local aspirations and while there were some rust in their opening encounter, they showed the excitement and inovativeness that had SA fans singing their praises over the past two seasons.

Not that the Sharks were far behind. With the addition of former Springbok backline coach Dick Muir to add to the grunt of no-nonsense head coach Robert du Preez, the Sharks showed that the likes of wingers Sbu Nkosi and Makazole Mapimpi will fill the Durban stadium again.

The Stormers also showed some glimpses that they have moved on from the periods of being very good to falling back in the trap of being average with their strong opening-half performance against the Jaguares only to retreat into their now familiar third-quarter slump.

The jury is still out on the Bulls who had a bye in the opening round, but they couldn’t have asked for a more taxing fixture than the Hurricanes in their opening round under new head coach John Mitchell tomorrow at Loftus Versfeld.

There’s no doubt Mitchell will bring some positive changes within the Bulls ranks but one should be served a quick reminder how the Lions won the Currie Cup in 2011 under him but then went off the boil in Super Rugby in 2012 which eventually turned into the big split.

But the hopes and positive mindset stay alive and you can say what you want about Mitchell’s people skills, the fact remains that he is technically sound and few people know more about what makes a rugby player tick than he does.

While the Lions remain the yardstick, the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls need to stride towards one common goal.

Restoring the pride of SA Rugby.