Lions must deliver

S Currie Cup champions, the Lions have no choice but to deliver the goods in the 2012 Super Rugby competition.

If they don’t, their fantastic domestic run last year will be looked on a fluke, a once-off ... a team only good enough against, at times, severely depleted opposition.

Yes, the Lions did beat a full-strength Western Province and Sharks in the Currie Cup semi-finals and final but for much of the competition those two teams as well as the Blue Bulls and Cheetahs were minus many of their leading stars.

All the local teams, plus the overseas opposition, will now be at full-strength and the Lions need to show they can also produce the goods against stiffer competition, week-in and week-out, on the road and at home. They need to show the country they are not onehit wonders and that, indeed, they have turned the corner.

The pressure will be immense for the young charges of John Mitchell but the reality is if they can beat some of South Africa’s best teams on home soil they should be able to do so again in Super Rugby. They may not be packed with Springboks, but they’re one of the most settled sides going into the competition and they have the momentum; now they just need to produce on the field.

Mitchell has built his team over the last two years ... with their success in the Currie Cup coming a bit quicker than most had anticipated ... and there should be no excuses this year. There are some seriously talented players wearing the red and white strip and they should view the coming six months as an opportunity to really make a name for themselves.

Super Rugby is as mentally challenging as it is physically daunting and in both instances the Lions have been poor over the last 10 years. They will, however, have a belief in themselves in 2012 unlike in previous years, while physically they are said to be in superb condition, and they need to be if they’re to make an impact.

With eight derbies to come against fellow South African sides, and a further four against overseas opposition at Coca-cola Park, the Lions must aim high and seek to reproduce their Currie Cup performance. Actually, they’re going to have to better their showing in the Currie Cup, but that’s what we’d expect, isn’t it?

Mitchell, his coaching staff and the players have laid a solid foundation and it is now time to dazzle in Super Rugby. If they aren’t able to do so this year, on the back of collecting the Currie Cup last season, then one’s got to wonder if it’s ever going to happen.

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