The Lions don’t always produce the perfect performance, but what they have perfected is the attacking game.
There is no better side in South Africa at the moment who can run, pass and catch like the Lions – it is what got them into this weekend’s Currie Cup final and it is what Western Province will have to contain if Johan Ackermann’s team are to be halted in their march to domestic rugby glory.
Ackermann’s men play with no fear – not even when they’re put under pressure, as they were by the Sharks in the second half in the semi-final at Ellis Park on Saturday – they’re brimming with confidence and they believe they can beat anyone, anywhere.
When they get their tails up, they’re virtually unstoppable – just ask the Cheetahs, Sharks and even Western Province, who they’ve all hammered this season.
Ackermann says the key to his team’s success, and the fact they’re prepared to throw the ball around no matter the situation, is that they simply enjoy playing rugby.
“You don’t want a prop and a lock who just scrum and jump in the line-out ... you want guys who want to enjoy their rugby,” said Ackermann after his team’s demolition of the Sharks on Saturday.
“The big thing is you have to know the make-up of your team, recognise the profile of the players. If you’ve got forwards who are two metres tall and weigh 120kg then you’ll probably look to run over the opposition. If your backs are big then you’ll look to smash the opposition.
“What we’ve got are guys with good feet, good hands, and speed ... our loose-forwards are our strength, but our props can also pass the ball and our locks can run for 80 minutes. We’ve got ball-players, so I’ve had to adapt our game to our team profile. It’s easy to play a direct game, and we can do that, but it’s more important to get the running style sorted, which we’ve done,” said Ackermann.
Indeed.
The Lions have simply had too many skills with ball in hand for their opponents this season, something Sharks coach Brad Macleod-Henderson acknowledged was tough to handle. “They’re a quality side. They’re very good in the set-pieces, they’ve got the best scrum in the competition, they’ve got exciting backs, and their loose-forwards are explosive, powerful runners.”
There are few weaknesses in Ackermann’s team – they lay a formidable platform up-front, with the scrum especially powerful, while in Jaco Kriel, Derick Minnie and Warren Whiteley they have a mobile, yet strong loose-trio. And the backs use the full width of the field to unlock opposition defences – WP boss Allister Coetzee has his work cut out to stop this Lions team this weekend.
Ackermann, though, will be praying Kriel – a standout performer in the 40 minutes he was on the field on Saturday – will be okay to travel to Cape Town.
The tearaway flanker hurt his hamstring against the Sharks and is a doubtful starter this weekend. “We’re not sure at this stage,” said Ackermann.
“We’ll test him and take it from there but we’ll do everything we can to have him available. Jaco has been immense for us this year and it’ll be a real pity if he can’t play on Saturday. Higher honours are certainly awaiting him.” - The Star