Young Lions pack gelling

Rudolph Jacobs

The Golden Lions’ young and inexperienced pack of forwards are coming together in their own right just in time for this weekend’s Currie Cup semifinal in Durban, according to their experienced Springbok centre Lionel Mapoe (below).

While there was a vague chance that Franco Mostert, Warren Whiteley and Malcolm Marx could play, the Lions were probably not entirely unhappy about the underdogs tag for their play-off against the Sharks on Saturday, but Mapoe believed their pack had made great strides.

“We had a couple of games in the competition obviously that we lost up front, but hopefully we managed to fix that last weekend,” said Mapoe, who was named Man-of-the-Match after last week’s 33-21 victory over the Pumas in Nelspruit.

It was the Lions’ fourth win of the competition, and they finished third in the standings with 21 points, nine adrift of the cup favourites Western Province and five points behind the Sharks, but four ahead of the Blue Bulls.

“We knew obviously what we had to do,” said the 30-year-old Mapoe.

“We had to get the win and I was just happy that we managed to get the victory. It’s hugely positive for the guys going into the play-off this weekend in Durban.”

The Bok centre, who had scored twice in 14 Test matches for the national team, was in Currie Cup action for the first time after spending time in Japan following the Super Rugby season over the last few years.

Born in Port Elizabeth, Mapoe went to Fichardtpark High School in Bloemfontein before turning out for the Cheetahs in 2010, while he played 12 games for the Bulls in Super Rugby in 2013 while on loan.

Since they last won the Currie Cup trophy in 2015, the Lions had suffered defeats in away semifinals against the Cheetahs in 2016 and Province last year.