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Pieter Jordaan
Johannesburg – The Lions will this week cling to the positive words of coach John Mitchell as they seek to console themselves with a seemingly hopeless situation ahead of the Currie Cup semifinals.
Their defeat Saturday against the Free State Cheetahs means that the Lions can only make the semifinals if the Cheetahs or Blue Bulls lose against the Leopards or Griquas this weekend.
That is unlikely, and even if the Lions pull off the anticipated big victory over the Pumas at Coca-Cola Park on Friday night, their season is probably over.
Even so, the Lions’ success graphic rose significantly over the past three months.
They came close to beating the Cheetahs and a week earlier pulled off a last-gasp win over the Sharks when the writing appeared to be on the wall.
Mitchell said before the game that all would not be lost if they dropped out of the race for a place in the semifinals.
“Yes, it’s make or break today, though it has been like that for the entire match. But it’s not make or break in terms of our development,” said the New Zealander.
The Lions will announce a new business partner on Tuesday and a number of player acquisitions are likely to be announced in the coming weeks.
Apart from that, young players like Edgar Marutlulle, Martin Bezuidenhout, Josh Strauss, Renaldo Bothma, Elton Jantjies and Jaco Taute have become fixtures in the Lions team over the past four months.
Next year’s Super rugby competition is being eagerly anticipated because the player depth is suddenly looking a lot better.
Johannesburg – The Lions will this week cling to the positive words of coach John Mitchell as they seek to console themselves with a seemingly hopeless situation ahead of the Currie Cup semifinals.
Their defeat Saturday against the Free State Cheetahs means that the Lions can only make the semifinals if the Cheetahs or Blue Bulls lose against the Leopards or Griquas this weekend.
That is unlikely, and even if the Lions pull off the anticipated big victory over the Pumas at Coca-Cola Park on Friday night, their season is probably over.
Even so, the Lions’ success graphic rose significantly over the past three months.
They came close to beating the Cheetahs and a week earlier pulled off a last-gasp win over the Sharks when the writing appeared to be on the wall.
Mitchell said before the game that all would not be lost if they dropped out of the race for a place in the semifinals.
“Yes, it’s make or break today, though it has been like that for the entire match. But it’s not make or break in terms of our development,” said the New Zealander.
The Lions will announce a new business partner on Tuesday and a number of player acquisitions are likely to be announced in the coming weeks.
Apart from that, young players like Edgar Marutlulle, Martin Bezuidenhout, Josh Strauss, Renaldo Bothma, Elton Jantjies and Jaco Taute have become fixtures in the Lions team over the past four months.
Next year’s Super rugby competition is being eagerly anticipated because the player depth is suddenly looking a lot better.
