Six of the best, including Horn and Van Wyk, commit to Lions

On the same day that the Lions announced they will no longer have former Springbok lock Albert van den Berg in their coaching team, they confirmed that six players, among them some of South Africa’s rising stars, have committed their immediate futures to the team.

Earlier on Wednesday the Lions said in a statement that Van den Berg, who has been part of the senior coaching team since 2021 looking after the forwards and lineouts, had opted to not renew his contract.

It is believed the former Springbok lock is considering a move abroad.

Young players

There has also been talk in recent months of there being unhappiness in the Lions camp, and between Van den Berg and team analyst Chris Venter, which may have led to the coach deciding to move on.

The good news for the Lions though, and the fans, is that several promising young stars have extended their contracts with the Joburg-based union.

The Lions did not elaborate for how long the players have decided to stay signed to the union.

Eighthman Francke Horn (23) and centre Henco van Wyk (21), two of South African rugby’s brightest prospects, are two of the players who’re staying put in Joburg.

Experienced prop JP Smith (33) and rising star Asenathi Ntlabakanye (24), hooker PJ Botha (25) and lock Reinhard Nothnagel (25) have also re-signed with the Lions.

Fourie and Van Rooyen

In February this year, the Lions announced they had extended defence coach and former Bok centre Jaque Fourie’s contract by a further two years, while at the same time they said negotiations with head coach Ivan van Rooyen were on-going.

“It’s hard to single out any one coach or person. We have confidence in him (Van Rooyen) and we have invested in him as a young coach,” said Lions CEO Rudolph Straeuli at the time.

“Everyone has KPIs and we are in the process of achieving those. Ivan still has a year on his contract. We are confident that in the following games that we will reach the targets set out for him.”

The Lions finished ninth in the United Rugby Championship, just missing out on the playoffs, while they’re currently involved in the Currie Cup, with the race to finish in the top four well underway.