Western Province and Stormers centre, Juan de Jongh is in my [...]]]> The Lions would be wise to try and attempt to cage one of the most exciting young rugby players in the country. We have two very good centres in Doppies La Grange and Waylon Murray, but to be competitive in the Super 15, you need a player that has the pace and ability to go all the way when breaking the line.

Western Province and Stormers centre, Juan de Jongh is in my opinion one of the most exciting youngsters in the country. He has astonishing acceleration off the mark, is very good in defence, can pass left and right and has a step reminding one of Danie Gerber.

With Jean de Villiers having signed with the Cape Franchise again, a talent such as de Jongh is only going to be wasted on the bench. He will most likely be behind de Villiers and Fourie in the pecking order, and having his pace in the backline can only enhance our scoring ability.

La Grange and Murray are both very good players, but neither of them possess the pace that de Jongh has.

I would love to see de Jongh next to Elton Jantjies, or even next to La Grange.

With the pace of Killian, van Renburg, Boshoff or Taute out wide, having the likes of de Jongh to break the line and being able to run into space using his step and pace will be devastating.

He is a hugely talented player and I would personally spend some big bucks on him, he is still very young and will become a Springbok great. The Lions can only benefit from having his talent in the side.

15 – Zane Kirchner (Blue Bulls):Looks hungry to win his Springbok jersey back, with some energetic running. Bubbling under: Hennie Daniller (Free State Cheetahs)

14 – Gerhard van den Heever (Blue Bulls):A strong and reliable finisher on the right wing, who must be selected on the Springboks end-of-year tour. Bubbling under: Odwa Ndungane [...]]]> After an impressive win over WP, the Lions this week have 7 players in the Rugby 365 Team of the Week.

15 – Zane Kirchner (Blue Bulls):Looks hungry to win his Springbok jersey back, with some energetic running.
Bubbling under: Hennie Daniller (Free State Cheetahs)

14 – Gerhard van den Heever (Blue Bulls):A strong and reliable finisher on the right wing, who must be selected on the Springboks end-of-year tour.
Bubbling under: Odwa Ndungane (Sharks)

13 – Robert Ebersohn (Free State Cheetahs):The Sevens star is starting to find his feet in the fifteen-man game.
Bubbling under: Stefan Terblanché (Sharks)

12 – Doppies la Grange (Lions):The game-breaker in midfield was at the heart of the Lions’ attack.
Bubbling under: Paul Bosch (Western Province)

11 – Michael Killian (Lions):Tore the Province defence to shreds with his explosive running.
Bubbling under: Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks)

10 – Elton Jantjies (Lions):Take a bow young man. Creative and fearless, this SA Under-20 star looks to have something special about him.
Bubbling under: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (Blue Bulls)

9 – Jano Vermaak (Lions):The always in-your-face terrior-like scrumhalf is back to his best and just pips Sharks star Charl McLeod.
Bubbling under: Charl McLeod (Sharks)

8 – Ashley Johnson (Free State Cheetahs):The powerhouse No.8 gave Griquas nightmares with his physical play.
Bubbling under: Warren Whiteley (Lions)

7 – Willem Alberts (Sharks):The Sharks forward really took the Bull by the horns in his own combative style.
Bubbling under: Joshua Strauss (Lions)

6 – Derick Minnie (Lions):Outshone Bok flank Francois Louw on Friday. He is flourishing in this young Lions team.
Bubbling under: Jacques Botes (Sharks)

5 – Franco van der Merwe (Lions):The leader of the pack was as dependable as ever.
Bubbling under: Waltie Vermeulen (Free State Cheetahs)

4 – Juandré Kruger (Blue Bulls):He has caught up to southern hemisphere pace and is, at last, showing why he received such rave reviews in the UK.
Bubbling under: Francois Uys (Free State Cheetahs)

3 – Ross Geldenhuys (Lions):The best game we’ve seen from the young tighthead, who has beefed up the Lions front row.
Bubbling under: Frik Kirsten (Blue Bulls)

2 – Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks):As strong and robust as ever, it always seems to take a handful of defenders to bring the big man down.
Bubbling under: Adriaan Strauss (Free State Cheetahs)

1 – Jaco Engels (Blue Bulls):What an impact he made in the second half, with a dream try from the burly prop. His presence swayed the game in the Bulls’ favour – and then some!
Bubbling under: Coenie Oosthuizen (Free State Cheetahs)

The Lions currently occupy 5th spot on the log with 25 log points.

Last season, the fourth placed team ended on 40 points. With second to sixth spot only separated by 4 points, the final dash to make the play-offs will be an [...]]]> With 5 fixtures remaining before the Currie Cup semi-finals, the Xerox Lions have put themselves in serious contention after an impressive victory over fancied Western Province on Friday evening.

The Lions currently occupy 5^th spot on the log with 25 log points.

Last season, the fourth placed team ended on 40 points. With second to sixth spot only separated by 4 points, the final dash to make the play-offs will be an exciting and brilliant one.

I have put together the fixtures of the top 6 sides, what I expect the results to be and how I believe the log will look like after the round robin.

With the above having been seen in my crystal ball, here is how I believe the log will look like after 14 rounds of Currie Cup rugby.

1)                  Sharks

2)                  Western Province

3)                  Cheetahs

4)                  Bulls

5)                  Lions

6)                  Griquas

7)                  Pumas

8)                  Leopards

Position 3,4,5 will be decided by points difference. And unfortunately for us, the first couple of rounds will come back to bite us on the ass.

This prediction is made on the assumption that most of the Springboks will not feature until the Semi-finals and Final.

The good news started on Thursday with the announcement by the GLRU that they had managed to secure the services of Head Coach John Mitchell on a permanent [...]]]> Friends and fellow members of the Pride, I consider it a privilege to review this game and after all that we have been through, the tears we have shed together and the anger that we have vented, victory has never tasted so sweet.

The good news started on Thursday with the announcement by the GLRU that they had managed to secure the services of Head Coach John Mitchell on a permanent basis for 3 years. This news was extremely well received and if, as in symbolic approval, the team put on their finest performance in many many months.

The build up in the press to this match was also interesting where the focus of many articles relating to the Lions were of positives and praise, whereas stories written about WP were about them trying to avoid a “Train smash.”

Unfortunately for Province, their engine is beginning to come off the rails and they now have to find another team to overcome in their desperate quest for silverware. The Lions have now enjoyed the last laugh as we cheerfully wave them off towards their next stop. They have a few easier fixtures ahead of them and need to make the most of these opportunities if they want to resurrect their 2010 Currie Cup.

The visitors drew first blood in the 4^th minute with a typical de Waal penalty but it was the Lions who struck back 4 minutes later when Doppies la Grange broke through a tackle and offloaded to Killian, who turned Conrad Jantjies inside out and scored in the left corner.

However for the next 10 minutes the Lions committed a number of infringements and began conceding penalties, which de Waal slotted with relative ease and WP gained the lead in the 17^th min.

Western Province scored their first and second tries through JJ Engelbrecht and then through Duane Vermeulen and finished off the first quarter leading the Lions by 21 points to 10.

The Lions finally regained their composure in the 2^nd quarter and managed to play some phased and controlled rugby and it was through this approach that WP began to concede penalties themselves. Through the faultless boot of Elton Jantjies, the Lions went into the half time break trailing 21 / 19 and very much in the game.

The 2^nd half immediately followed the same Lions script where our opponents scored a very well – worked, multiple phased try through Conrad Hoffman, who slithered his way through a tackle and dotted down.

28 / 19 to Province in the 43^rd minute but that was the last time they were to trouble the scorers.

After a few more Jantjies penalties the Lions 2^nd try came through a scintillating break by Warren Whiteley who then kicked ahead and chased for the line, the WP defender, under monstrous pressure from Whiteley, failed to gather the ball and spilled it. Michael Killian was there to pick up the pieces and scored his 2^nd of the night.

There was hardly enough time for the Lions faithful to recover from the delight, when Renaldo Bothma charged through the WP line from deep and released Killian who, from still inside the 22, tore through just about every single cover defender that WP had. Derick Minnie was on his outside and finished off the try of the night.

It has to be mentioned that the support runner on Killian’s inside was none other than front row forward Martin Bezuidenhout, who actually managed to keep up with the winger all the way from our own 22.

This little incident is but 1 typical example of how well our tight 5 played tonight. They worked their backsides off and this was by far their best performance as a unit this year. They ensured that our ball was secured at the rucks and troubled the WP scrum all night. They also won 2 very significant WP set pieces.

The one was a lineout that they had a few meters away from our own tryline (which almost resulted in another Lions try) and the other was winning a free kick against the Province scrum 5 meters from their try line. This time the resulting scrum did lead to a score with Elton Jantjies making a fool out of the hapless Willem de Waal, stepping past him and crashing over the line at the foot of the right hand upright.

The final score was an emphatic bonus point 46 / 28 win for the Lions and will be remembered long into the future for not only the upset to one of the tournament favorites but for the manner in which the Lions went about the job.

There will be many angry WP_fans and they surely will look to point their indignant fingers at Willem de Waal and at Coach Alistair Coetzee but I honestly did not believe that they played badly at all.

Duane Vermeulen had a massive game and was prominent throughout the match. So too was Dewaldt Duvenage impressive and Conrad Hoffman.

However the Man of the Match was beyond dispute and Elton Jantjies for his unblemished 100% 10 out of 10 kicking performance that kept us in the game when Province looked like they were about to run away with it and as well for his great try.

Everyone in the Lions was magnificent and I would have loved to have gone through each person one by one but to me, special praise has to be given to the tight 5 for their unselfish and professional conduct and for completely outplaying their counterparts.

Scorers:-

Lions – Tries: Michael Killian (2), Derick Minnie, Elton Jantjies Conversions: Jantjies (4) Penalties: Jantjies (6)

WP – Tries: JJ Engelbrecht, Duane Vermeulen, Conrad Hoffman Conversions: Willem de Waal (2) Penalties: De Waal (3)

That is exactly what we should be doing.

It does seem that things are falling nicely into place within the Lions structures. And [...]]]> The GLRU have in recent times made some shocking decisions, and have fairly received criticism all round and have taken this on the chin. I have also been one to criticise, but having the balls to criticise means that when something goes right, you need to commend and congratulate.

That is exactly what we should be doing.

It does seem that things are falling nicely into place within the Lions structures. And that is due to some hard work behind the scenes of all management involved.

After some serious and hard negotiating, John Mitchell has been retained as full time coach of the Xerox Lions and of the Super 15 Lions. This speaks volumes for continuity, and as we all know, continuity breeds success.

Some serious questions were asked about the contracting of Carlos Spencer. He didn’t perform well in Super 14, but Kevin de Klerk repeatedly stated that Spencer’s main goal was to mentor and coach. Playing was a secondary option. And so far his influence in young Elton Jantjies is there for the world to see.

Retaining the services of Jano Vermaak and Doppies La Grange was also a huge step in the right direction. Something is happening and it seems that for once it’s happening for the better cause.

We need to consider the decision of John Mitchell to stay in the bigger picture. Why would a New Zealander who is in the prime of his coaching career move to Johannesburg and coach the perennial whipping boys of Superrugby?

I am sure money is an issue here, but his reputation is on the line, and for him to decide to stay on for three years, must mean that things can’t be that bad anymore within the GLRU. He also had offers from overseas clubs, and he decided to coach the Lions. We don’t have an ocean or a mountain, yet, he is staying in Jo’burg.

As said before, the GLRU are in negotiations with some fantastic rugby players to join us for next season’s Superrugby campaign. We had Trevor Hall, Waylon Murray, Renaldo Bothma and Joshua Strauss join us for the Currie Cup campaign, and we will have some players join us in time for next season.

Well done GLRU. We probably have the best coach since Laurie Mains in charge of our Lions. We have some of the most exciting youngsters in South African rugby.

We’re definitely heading into the right direction, and slowly but surely we will regain our position as one of the top sides in the country and in the Southern Hemisphere. We’re starting to see some intelligent decisions being made, and we as supporters are grateful that for the first time in a very long time, people are starting to look at the Lions differently already.

We’ll take it one game at a time, one victory at a time, and one loss at a time. But we will be back at the top. Rather sooner than later.

The Lions have now won three consecutive matches, and without a doubt the Lions under John Mitchell are an immensely improved side filled with guts, heart and attitude.

Facing [...]]]> Without a doubt, the Xerox Lions most crucial match of the 2010 season is against Western Province on Friday evening at 19:10. How far the Lions have come and how much they’ve improved will all be revealed the moment Mark Lawrence blows the final whistle after 80 minutes of exhilarating rugby.

The Lions have now won three consecutive matches, and without a doubt the Lions under John Mitchell are an immensely improved side filled with guts, heart and attitude.

Facing Western Province is always a daunting prospect, and we were reminded of this when these two sides met in the first round and the Lions got nilled in Cape Town. Province scored two tries to none and the rest of their points came from the boot of Willem de Waal.

Discipline has been the Lions’ Achilles heal, and it is clear that Mitchell has been working on this overtime. The Lions are much more disciplined at the breakdown and tackle area, and this will go a long way towards keeping the red and white soldiers in the game.

Defensively the Lions have been an impressive unit.

What we’ve lacked from the first game and was also clearly evident against the Leopards is a tight-five that has the physical presence to dominate the collisions. We continuously lost ball due to a lack of numbers at the breakdown, and if we repeat this, we will be killed on Friday.

Everybody loves running with the ball, but you need to respect one of the basic applications of rugby, you need to earn the right to go wide. Committing numbers and physically intimidating the Province’ forwards is the key to victory on Friday.

The Lions have a good backline. Elton Jantjies is clearly the catalyst in creating space for his centres. Against a much slower Willem de Waal, Jantjies would be wise to attack his channel with pace and skill.

The match-up between the loose-forwards is also a mouth watering one. Warren Whiteley, Derek Minnie and Joshua Strauss have shown some wonderful form, and against the highly rated Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen, they will have to be on top of their game.

The Lions would be wise to prevent themselves from being isolated against the likes of Louw.

Mark Lawrence is in my opinion the best referee in world rugby, and with him in charge, expect a free flowing game and an exciting brand of running rugby.

This is probably the best chance the Lions have to beat Province. Coming off two defeats, Province must be dominated from the first to the final minute. I’ve said this before, if the Lions try and employ their bash through the Province defence, the Lions will lose, and they will lose badly.

Kick to touch in your own 22, bash them upfront, recycle and use phase ball to create space out wide. Patience is key and the Lions will have to have plenty of this. Province’ defence has shown some weaknesses over the last couple of week-ends, and if the Lions manage to recycle quick ball, they might just expose some vulnerabilities in the Province defence.

For the first time in a very long time the Lions have an extremely strong and talented bench, with Renaldo Bothma, Johan Snyman and Wayne Swart all having impressed when making their appearances. This might be the difference between the two sides.

This is an extremely important game, and the Lions must win this if they want to stake a claim on a semi-final spot. Come Friday evening 21:40, we will know how far the Lions have come.

It will be a brutal battle, and blood will be spilt. It will be a tight affair and both teams will have a full go, but the Lions are in some sort of resurgence, and the guts, heart and hunger for victory they have shown over the last couple of weeks, will pull them through and the Lions will beat Province by 5 to 7 points.  

Xerox Lions:

Jaco Taute; Jannie Boshoff; Waylon Murray; Doppies La Grange; Michael Killian; Elton Jantjies; Jano Vermaak; Warren Whiteley; Joshua Strauss; Derek Minnie; Franco vd Merwe (c); George Earle; Ross Geldenhuys; Martin Bezuidenhout; JC Janse van Rensburg. Replacements:Edgar Maratlulle; Wayne Swart; Johan Snyman; Renaldo Bothma; JP Joubert; Burton Francis; Marius Delport.

Western Province:

Conrad Jantjes; JJ Engelbrecht; Tim Whitehead; Paul Bosch; Frikkie Welsh; Willem de Waal; Dewaldt Duvenage; Duane Vermeulen; Nick Köster; Francois Louw; Anton van Zyl (c); Adriaan Fondse; Brok Harris; Deon Fourie; JD Moller. Replacements:Callie Visagie; Wicus Blaauw; Buhle Mxunyelwa; De Kock Steenkamp; Pieter Myburgh; Conrad Hoffmann; Marcel Brache.

Date: Friday, September 3
Venue: Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 19.10
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Assistant referees:Archie Sehlako, Luke Burger
TMO:Gerrie Coetzee

The team was announced this afternoon and is as follows: 

The Super 14 stats, (yes I know it is a bit late, but….better late than never)

I wanted to put all on 1 sheets but the space available limits me, so I had to separate them.