‘It was unexpected’: Reinhard Nothnagel on his role as Lions captain

Lions lock Reinhard Nothnagel is settling into his role as the team’s captain really well, becoming the first SA franchise captain to lead their side to a 3-0 return from a European tour in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Towards the end of last season the towering 2.02-metre lock was suddenly thrown into the deep end as the team’s captain after Burger Odendaal had signed for Wasps. Flank Jaco Kriel took over the captaincy, but he was soon injured, leading to Nothnagel being handed the reins.

Since then he has steadily grown into the role and now looks at home at the helm of the Lions ship.

‘Enjoyed the role’

“It was quite unexpected when I was called on to lead the side last year, but I have really enjoyed the role. What has really helped me is the guys buying in to me being captain. So everything is going well currently,” explained Nothnagel.

“I also have some great senior players that help me a lot; guys like Andries Coetzee, Ruan Dreyer, Willem Alberts, even though he is behind the scenes, he helps out a lot, too. So I really have good mentors off the field and on the field and that really helps.

“There is still a long season ahead of us, so if I can just keep the boys motivated and if we can keep our momentum going it will be great for the team.”

Despite the great run that the Lions are currently on after picking up three top away wins, the team know that they aren’t the finished product and that they still have a number of things to work on.

“Our set piece has been good this season, but it hasn’t been consistently dominant. So that is something that we are working towards at the moment,” admitted Nothnagel.

“We are also focusing on getting more 22m entries, because the more opportunities you give yourself the more opportunities you have to score. So that is definitely a work on for us going forward.”

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The Lions are now back at Ellis Park and take on a tough Ulster team on Saturday afternoon, and they will be hoping to see a sizeable crowd at the ground to cheer them on.

“Everyone is happy to be back home to play at Ellis Park again. We only played one game here against the Bulls before we went on tour, so hopefully we can have a decent sized crowd because everyone is looking forward to the game.”

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