Lions will rise again, believes Loffie Eloff

For former Lions rugby coach Eugene Eloff, life hasn’t come to an absolute standstill because of the national lockdown.

Instead, he aims to inspire.

Eloff, the successful former SA U-21 coach who took the Lions to the 2007 Currie Cup final, shared an inspirational song on social media while the nation faced ongoing restrictions due to Covid-19 fears.

“People everywhere are a bit down because of the current situation and the message was to inspire people and try give them hope,” said Eloff, a motivational speaker and former military colonel.

The former Lions mentor felt the team’s performances this year had been disappointing, but he remained confident they would rise again.

“I spoke to Kevin (de Klerk, former Lions president) recently and told them it was to be expected after the highs of 2016 to 2018,” he
said.

“There are expectations, but with a young coaching staff it will unfortunately take time before they are up there again.”

Of the coaches in the country, Eloff believed the Sharks’ Sean Everitt and the Stormers’ John Dobson were doing the best job this year.

Sean Everitt (Head Coach) of the Cell C Sharks during the Cell C Sharks training session at Jonnsons Kings Park on March 03, 2020 in Durban, South Africa. (Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

“I think what they have managed is to empower their players and allow them to take leadership and ownership,” he said.

“One can see they are happy squads and that normally reflects in performances.

“I see the Bulls have called in Jake White and we all know he is a conservative coach and high on discipline, so we’ll have to wait and see how well that goes down with the players,” he added.

Eloff revealed he was in the process of establishing a company which would focus on the mentorship of young coaches and players.

“It’s due to be launched in 2021, so the current virus is not affecting it too much,” he said.

“The whole idea is to teach players not to rely solely on a rugby career but also focus on life after rugby, while the mentorship of coaches has already gone down well in countries like Portugal and Brazil.”

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