Super 14, 2008- The Lions
Form from 2007
The Lions started the Super 14 brilliantly in 2007 with 4 wins from 5 games. They fell away after that with only one more win for the rest of the season which coach Eugene Eloff blamed on lack of depth. They finished 3rd last. Eloff won't have the depth excuse this year, however, as his team is made up of either World Cup winning Springboks or Lions Currie Cup players who made, and narrowly lost, the final. Jo-Burg fans will want results in 2008 and Eugene Eloff will need to knock the Lions a few pegs up in the ladder.
Coming and Goings
Leaving the forwards is experienced prop Lawrence Sephaka. Sephaka has been in and out of the Springboks squad for the last few years and now plays for Toulon in France. At 29 Sephaka would still have a good few years of playing left but being left out of the Springboks this year (having made the 2006 Tri-Nations team) for the World Cup sealed the deal to leave. He'll be a loss but its not the end of the world. Another forward on the out is ex-Bull backrow Jacques Cronje. Cronje joined the Lions in 2007 for a season and has now hooked up with Biarritz. Cronje is an incredibly powerful player and would also be disappointed about his World Cup non-selection (especially with Spies out).
Having an injury record to compete with Clyde Rathbone, Ashwin Willemse came back and had a super season (pardon the pun) resulting in a Springboks selection. He's now joined Biarritz and is another loss for the Lions but not one they can't live without. Eloff would be made to rely about a player with that kind of injury history.
As always with South Africa, squads are always decided late for the following year. There has been talk though that No.8 Joe Van Niekirk may join the Lions since his deal with Northhampton fell through. Van Niekirk is another of the perpetually walking wounded but if he can keep fit is a powerful running backrower who make a good replacement for Jacques Cronje
Keep an eye on
2007 captain and power forward Ernst Joubert is always a sight to behold. The hardworking No 8 forms part of a solid pack this year and will lead from the front. Few (if any) of the Lions forwards played for the Springboks this year and the time together in the Currie Cup will have built some good interrelationships and combinations. There are no doubts Joubert and his backrow compatriots will feature heavily in Eloff's game plan.
With few truly brilliant fly halfs in South Africa, Louis Strydom will be looking to press a claim on test selection. Since the Stormers and Sharks will likely play their foreign 10s (Tony Brown and Michalak) Strydom can show off his potential and tussle with Andre Pretorius for the starting role. Either way he is likely to get quite a lot of game time as Pretorius seems to be always injured.
Prospectus for 2008
Sorry to say it but the Lions lack class. The pack is competant, the set-pieces are stable and the backs are sound but thats all there is to it. There are no 'watch out for that guy' type players. Of their 5 wins 4 were by 7 or less points and 3 wins were against ABless New Zealand sides. Sure they can expect some wins when their opponents play poorly and the odd upset at home (at altitude) but the Lions are going nowhere fast. If they can hold things together for a fair while they'll start doing better in a year or two but for now I'm marking them down for my 11th place.
