JC Janse van Rensburg, who so excellently led the Lions in this year’s Currie Cup campaign, has vowed that his team will come back stronger and fitter in 2014 when they hope to return to the Super Rugby competition.
Van Rensburg was talking after his side were eliminated from the Currie Cup competition at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday, losing in the semi-final against Western Province, 21-16. It was the Lions’ last big competitive game at the stadium until next year’s Super Rugby promotion-relegation match, after they were replaced in the 2013 competition by the Southern Kings.
While Lions fans will have little to cheer about in the coming months, Western Province and Sharks supporters can look forward to this weekend’s Currie Cup final after the men from Durban advanced after beating the Blue Bulls 20-3.
Van Rensburg, who took over the captaincy of the Lions this season, said his side would return to the top flight of local and southern hemisphere rugby a stronger side in 2014. “We’ll come back with a bang,” he said after the Lions lost a thrilling semi-final to WP on Saturday; the visitors scoring a final minute try to deny the Lions back-to-back finals.
“Sure, some of our players will look to play Super Rugby elsewhere next year because they think they need to play at that level to be in the Springbok mix, but with the team not involved it gives us a chance to do more conditioning and come the play-offs [at the end of the 2013 Super Rugby competition] we’ll be the fittest team around.”
Van Rensburg, despite being one of the most consistent loosehead props in the competition this season, is unlikely to play Super Rugby at another union next season, as some of his teammates will be doing. He said it was time to pay the Lions back for always “looking after him”.
“My teammates and my love for this union is what is keeping me here… they’ve looked after me. When I got here a few years ago I couldn’t speak English and I was just a ‘boertjie’ from the farm. I felt it’s time to pay them back.”
The Lions are expected to soon announce details of fixtures next season when the Super Rugby competition is on. Besides playing against all five of the SA teams they’re set to also face off against teams from North America, Europe and Asia.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann said he would use the next few months to rebuild the team. “It’s disappointing we won’t be involved in Super Rugby next year. This group have come together nicely and, finally, we seem to have a number of players in each position, so there’s good depth.
“We’ve built a good squad, but the whole group is now going to break up again and we’re going to have to rebuild. It’s the one word no one at the Lions wants to use, but it’s a reality. We’ve got a good core here and there are some exciting youngsters coming through, and there’s nothing wrong with the passion of the guys, so we’ll be a strong team, hopefully when the play-offs come around next season.”
Van Rensburg called his players “special” and he added it was “sad” the union couldn’t move on and have another go at Super Rugby. “Despite everything that’s happened here this year, this is still a brilliant team and we should have beaten Western Province.”
Ackermann added: “Considering the circumstances the players have worked in this year, what with a new coach, new assistants, their futures uncertain, everything could have fallen apart and it could have been us in last place, playing promotion-relegation matches. As it is, we gave ourselves a great chance to win the title again. I know we should have won this one [the semi-final against WP], that’s why it’s so disappointing.”
Asked who he thought would go on to win the final this weekend, Ackermann didn’t hesitate in saying the Sharks. “They’ll win by 15. Western Province can’t get lucky twice in a row, Christmas only comes once,” he said. “The Sharks will be too strong for them.”