Winning must define Mitch’s mongrels
3 Feb 2012
MARK KEOHANE, writing in SA Rugby magazine, says it’s time for the Lions to deliver in Super Rugby.
John Mitchell’s Lions deserved their 2011 Currie Cup success, but it is their 2012 Super Rugby campaign that will prove more telling. And it has to be a results-driven one.
Putting in good performances is no longer good enough. Playing good rugby is also not good enough. Winning in 2012 is what has to define the Lions.
Mitchell’s mongrels (said with great affection) are no longer a young squad. This will be their fourth tournament campaign with Mitchell and for all the heroics of their domestic high, the road to the play-offs was made easier because of the World Cup. The Lions, it cannot be ignored, were not affected by national call-ups. There was no disruption from the Super Rugby tournament into the Currie Cup. No other team had such a luxury.
Mitchell’s side struggled in Super Rugby in 2011 because of poor decision-making, inexperience and an inability to translate good intentions into victories.
For every good performance there was the converse a week later. Many of the results were defeats by less than seven points, but that should never be the measurement of a team with any aspiration. To win you only need one more point than your opponent. Those who beat the Lions may feel they won with something to spare.
Lions president Kevin de Klerk has spoken glowingly of Mitchell and his influence at the union. De Klerk said he never stopped believing in the New Zealander and never doubted for a moment that he could transform a team – mocked as circus Lions – into something a bit more intimidating.
The euphoria among the Lions players, management, administration and supporters was understandable after the Currie Cup final win against the Sharks. But the reality of the Lions is that until they deliver a winning Super Rugby season little will have changed.
I am not suggesting they have to win the tournament, but the expectation has to be a top-six – and play-off – finish. The Currie Cup is a feeder competition to Super Rugby. The strength of a team is what they do in Super Rugby and not the Currie Cup.
There is no escaping this reality and the only way to give the Currie Cup success of 2011 credibility is for those same players to win more than they lose against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa’s best. This will also be an important season for Mitchell, who has a reputation for being able to fix a team but not always deliver champions.
I don’t think the Lions have a good enough squad to win the Super Rugby title, so it would be unfair to demand of Mitchell to add it to their Currie Cup crown, but if the hype of dominating a watered down Currie Cup tournament is to be accepted as an accurate reflection of their strength, they can’t be excused a season in which they finish in the bottom three and claim the odd victory.
The Lions in 2011 were the good-news story of South African rugby, more so because it allowed everyone to forget the Springboks’ Tri-Nations and World Cup disasters, in which the Boks finished last in the former and equalled their worst-ever performance at the latter.
The Lions can’t afford to be an illusion similar to the Boks of 2011. There has been no internal analysis of where the Boks went wrong in 2011. There has simply been a collective belief that the Boks were done a dirty by a New Zealand referee.
There has to be a bit more realism attached to the story of the Lions and there are still questions that have to be answered. We’ll get that in the 2012 Super Rugby tournament.
What we will also get is the return of the Bulls. I’m backing them to be the South African team to beat, which doesn’t excuse the Lions finishing outside the top six.
– This column first appeared in the Jan-Feb issue of SA Rugby magazine. The March issue is on sale from 15 February. Click here to subscribe to the print or digital edition.
127 Comments
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
3 Feb 2012, 18:56 pm
@RL-100: If the Stormers are impotant for reach the final and semis the last two years then what are the Bulls? Castrated?
3 Feb 2012, 18:59 pm
Saffa education at it’s best.
3 Feb 2012, 19:01 pm
@allblacksaregods-102: Looks like you could use some of the superior education for your own incoherent ramblings.
3 Feb 2012, 19:01 pm
Impotent Michael.
Impotent.
3 Feb 2012, 19:03 pm
What are these all blacks doing here anyway.
3 Feb 2012, 19:10 pm
@Dawn-104: as opposed to important. or impudent.
3 Feb 2012, 19:13 pm
On the subject of this article. Have they been reading Charlie Sheen’s posts?
Will they need to have tiger blood too?
On a positive note for the LionsI see that the Chiefs thumped the Rebels by a cricket score.
they might juts pick up a win yet this season.
Do they play the Rebels?
3 Feb 2012, 19:14 pm
I just love the lions…..you can always,after a lean period, kick-start your season against them.
3 Feb 2012, 19:16 pm
@Dawn-104: Congrats. Tackler would be proud.
3 Feb 2012, 19:17 pm
@allblacksaregods-108: Or be lulled into a false sense of security through the win only to be thumped again the following week like skittles.
3 Feb 2012, 19:18 pm
@stormersboy-107: Sh it spelling and grammar (what’s new) but I was typing one handed while eating a steak roll.
Just got back from gym and I could eat a horse.
Knowing my butcher, it’s entirely possible that I am in fact doing just that…..
3 Feb 2012, 19:32 pm
The lions still need proper funding & to sort their depth out, will be a major factor.
Who was missing against The Stormers last week? Note it is possible the lions were on a low after such a high by their standards. Looking very forward to see how they do in the Real openers..
3 Feb 2012, 19:48 pm
Is it just me or is the fact that rugby turned professional (albeit 15 years ago) starting to catch up to unions/clubs around the world?
I am very tempted to say ‘Finally’…
3 Feb 2012, 19:48 pm
@PissAnt-113:
There is a nice subject for a next business day column.
3 Feb 2012, 19:49 pm
What will count against them is the other teams have many years of expectancy to beat The Lions, always a must win. Lions did beat pretty much full strength Stormers & Sharks teams last year, that is the essence to moving past their age old Demons, it’s up2 them now to follow up.
3 Feb 2012, 20:06 pm
Sorry Michael.
Just that inferior saffa education comment made me see double.
3 Feb 2012, 20:31 pm
So the Lions have not renewed several contracts. They have not recruited much and now they have to play 14 games in the toughest competition in the world. If Strauss, Bondesio, Van Heerden and Van der Merwe get injured it is going to be another looooong tournament. Not a lot of depth in those positions. Its a pitty though, I like the Lions.
3 Feb 2012, 20:50 pm
@Guns-112: The Stormers were missing Andries Bekker, Duanne Vermeulen, Rynard Elstadt, Dewald Duvenhage, Peter Grant.
From last season Jaque Fourie and Francois Louw were obviously also absent.
Joe Pieterson and Hekkies Van der Heever were new additions.
3 Feb 2012, 21:28 pm
Cheetahs could give Stormers a smack tomorrow, what AC thinking putting up a B team even if it is a warm up a loss now gonna demoralize the team psyche deeper than he can deal with. Goosen will toy with Catrakillis and Raubenheimer, De Walt and Brussow gonna have too much firepower for Schalk and his newbies, only hope is hooker Fourie gets stuck into the breakdown ball cos Schalk is too slow for that, not the time to speculate with positions, only can hope Cheetahs backline don’t have a free ride because Stormers can’t counter their quick release flowing game.
3 Feb 2012, 21:44 pm
@ashampoopaloo-119: I think the opposite will happen.
But I’ve been wrong before.
3 Feb 2012, 22:03 pm
@XhosaKid-47: Talking out of your bum, dumb a$s?
@hendrikp-2: I don’t know who is more stupid…. you or XhosaKid?
@ashampoopaloo-119: & @stormersboy-120: Does it matter? It’s a warm up game. Get some good hits in, try new plays etc etc. IMO…. means fukall except if you are XhosaBum
3 Feb 2012, 22:05 pm
could go either way, now we check how deep is Stormers depth because Catrakillis, Francis are no match for Goosen
And I’m concerned for our loosies because they up against a tough mobile unit and we playing some greenhorns in there
Lets see if Stormers B team can handle Cheetahs A team, if they come through OK then signs will be good going forward
4 Feb 2012, 00:53 am
Reading through the comments here about the Lions again. It’s sad that some people would love to see this union go down. I can understand banter and all that other stuff but wishing this union go down hill. Fcking pathetic. SA Rugby needs a strong Lions union. Regards the Kings replace the Lions? You are going to replace **** with ****? Have a good look at that Kings team. It’s full of has beens (sorry to say). Zane Killian? Fck me the guy still lives with his parents and cannot even make it into the Springs club team without daddy pulling a few strings. “Good players will go to the Kings when they get into Super Rugby.” Really? Why was there never talk of getting these guys into the CC and build up something good from there? SA need a good team from the EP, but stocking it with (well look at the team sheet). I say get a good CC behind you and generate some attention/interest. Good luck to the Lions and the Kings. SA needs good teams from both regions. Time for bed.
4 Feb 2012, 01:42 am
Looks like my Hurricanes are in for a rough seson this 2012…I think the Lions will beat them even..
4 Feb 2012, 03:54 am
IMHO, 3rd in SA conference (and/or place in the top 8) would be successful result, everything better – a bonus. Playoffs – a huge bonus.
Good luck to them.
4 Feb 2012, 06:18 am
@PissAnt-114: Keo write an article on proffessionalism? Pull the other one
4 Feb 2012, 10:29 am
Kevin asked for a top half finish and he is going to get it. You build over time and this is very evident in this Lions team and set-up albeit with all the behind the scenes nonsense, so NO Lions supporters will not be complaining if we dont finish first, all we ask for is progress.
Pages: « 1 2 [3] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.