Lions players during a Currie Cup match. Picture: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
Regardless of what happens between the Lions and Sharks in this weekend’s Currie Cup final, the Johannesburg’s sides impressive showing in the competition has set them up well for their United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign.
After a tough first season in the URC, where the Lions finished 12th on the 16-team log, they have suffered heartbreak over the past two seasons, just missing out on the competition playoffs on both occasions.
In the 2022-23 season they finished ninth, just three points off the Sharks in the final playoff spot in eighth, while the 2023-24 campaign was even closer, as they finished level on points with eighth placed Ospreys but finished below them on games won over the season.
Ahead of the coming season, which kicks off this weekend (although the SA sides have had their first round of derbies delayed until next year due to the Currie Cup final), Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen claimed their goal was a top-four finish in the URC.
The Lions’ Currie Cup coach Mziwakhe Nkosi backed up his compatriot on that assertion after their semifinal win over the Cheetahs at the weekend, saying their strong performances had shown the depth of talent they had built up.
“We have created a group of 35 players, and many of them are young who have gained first-class experience (in the Currie Cup),” Nkosi said.
“Guys like Renzo du Plessis and Jarod Cairns, amongst others, have put their hands up and made the competition for places really tight.
“The URC coaches now have a good group of players to pick from. If they don’t start with Ase (prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye) they can start with Conraad (van Vuuren). If they don’t start with Sanele (Nohamba) they can start with Kade Wolhuter or Sam Francis.
“So we have built competition and healthier depth in a lot of positions. That is going to stand us in good stead looking at the number of games that will be played in the URC and EPCR, and when one or two injuries hit.”
Since the Lions’ golden run in the mid-2010s, when they won the Currie Cup in 2015, and made three consecutive Super Rugby finals from 2016 to 2018, they lost two teams worth of players and saw their performance dip massively, leading to them struggling over the past few years.
They did reach the Currie Cup final in 2019, but went down to the Cheetahs, and since then haven’t made it to another final in any competition.
They will thus be desperate to finish their superb campaign this season, which has seen them win 10 out of 11 games so far, with a win over the Sharks. But just getting to the final has been a huge achievement for them.
“This is massive for the Lions. In the recent past we have haven’t had the riches that other franchises have had, and when they (other teams) were at the top of the crest riding their wave we were at the bottom. We are now working our way up,” said Nkosi.
“Ivan (van Rooyen) spoke in the week about our ambitions and part of setting high ambitions is to do stuff like this. So what a story it will be if we go out and win it (the Currie Cup).”
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