Let’s be honest. The Lions and Cheetahs don’t have the depth, class, structures or history to make them genuine Super Rugby title contenders. But as a combined team they will have the players and the depth to perhaps become a super team good enough to challenge for the title.
With no-one from the South African Rugby Union, Sanzar or the local franchises seemingly having a clue how to sort out the Southern Kings issue, surely returning to a combined team, such as the one-time Cats, is the way to go.
It may not be ideal and logistically it could cause a few problems, but they’re not issues that can’t be overcome. And let’s face it, both teams have struggled on their own in Super Rugby and won’t want to sit out completely so why not share costs and profits and ensure both the Lions and Cheetahs at least stay a part of the competition?
Lions boss John Mitchell told The Star at the weekend he would be open to the idea of joining forces with the Cheetahs and even got excited at the prospect of seeing such a team in action.
The former Cats may not have won the Super 12 or Super 14 title but they did make the semi-finals two years in a row, 2000 and 2001, and I’d bet good money on a current Lions-Cheetahs combination doing the same.
The one thing that hurts both right now is depth, but as a joint force the coach would not have this problem.
And why should it be such an issue anyway? It’s not as if the Lions and Cheetahs fans didn’t support the Cats between 1998 and 2005. They embraced them and got behind them ... and that would be the case now as well.
Super Rugby is an international competition and the franchises draw players from all over the place. The current leaders, for example, the Chiefs, draw players from provincial unions Bay of Plenty, Counties Manukau, King Country, Thames Valley and Waikato. For Super Rugby the combined team play as the Chiefs, but in the domestic competition in New Zealand they play as individual provinces.
A new-look “Cats” team could draw players from the Lions, Cheetahs, Griquas, Griffons, Leopards, the Valke and possible even the Pumas. But for Currie Cup they would all play as individual unions.
It’s just a thought ... but it’s a better option than losing your Super Rugby status altogether. But whatever is decided, to allow the Southern Kings into the mix, let’s hope the decision comes sooner rather than later because right now the uncertainty of it all is doing the players and the unions no good. – The Star