With three rounds remaining in the regular season of the Currie Cup competition, Johan Ackermann’s team are the runaway leaders and look set to finish in top spot and bank a home semi-final. And, should they win that, they’ll also be at Ellis Park for the final showdown.
Having dropped just two points from a possible 35, the Lions are eight points clear of the second-placed Bulls, with Western Province third on 24. Fighting it out for fourth place are the Cheetahs (17), Sharks (13) and Pumas (13). The teams trying to avoid finishing last are the Kings and Griquas, who have seven and six points respectively.
During their unbeaten run, Ackermann’s men have picked up a four-try bonus point on five occasions, missing out only in the last two weekends – against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld and the Sharks at home on Saturday.
It is something that will irk Ackermann somewhat as his charges got three five-pointers in Pretoria and just two against the Sharks. On Saturday, the Lions fluffed two great try-scoring chances – the first when Andries Coetzee and Stokkies Hanekom both grabbed at the ball, but got in each other’s way and knocked on, and the second, when a poor pass by Kwagga Smith failed to find Courtnall Skosan with only the tryline in front of him.
It was, however, still a comfortable victory for the Lions, who dominated their opponents for much of the game; the Sharks only giving the score some hint of respectability with two late tries.
Ackermann’s men are currently streets ahead of the other teams in the competition and to think the Lions have had to play without some of their most influential men from Super Rugby – like Warren Whiteley, Warwick Tecklenburg, Faf de Klerk, Elton Jantjies, Harold Vorster and Lionel Mapoe – shows just how strong the squad is at the moment.
The Sharks have a mountain to climb if they’re to get anything out of the Currie Cup this year. They host the Bulls this weekend and then finish with tricky away fixtures against Griquas and the Cheetahs.
Nollis Marais’ Bulls slipped up for the second time in as many weeks when they came unstuck against Western Province at Newlands on Friday, a result that has intensified the race for second place. The Bulls though will back themselves against the out-of-sorts Sharks on Friday and also against the Kings at home and Griquas away.
Province though will want to give themselves their best chance of defending their title by playing at home in the play-offs, but they’ll probably have to pick up three wins – starting this weekend against the Pumas at home and then finishing with the Lions, away, and the Kings, back at home.
With their win against Griquas, the Cheetahs are back in the hunt, but have a difficult run-in, starting with a clash against the Lions, on Saturday and finishing with games against the Pumas, away, and Sharks, home.
The big question though is, can anyone stop the Lions? They’re playing as a tight-knit unit, scoring tries and asking questions across the park. - The Star