Johannesburg - Let’s not be ambiguous in our assessment of the Lions’ Currie Cup campaign last season – it was an unmitigated disaster.
The Joburgers only won two games out of 12 – a 17% win record – and were bashed and bruised throughout the tournament. The strategy then was to split the playing resources of the union into two separate camps – a United Rugby Championship (URC) and Currie Cup squad.
The thought process was that it would give the union the best possible chance in the URC, while also exposing younger players to the rigours of professional senior rugby.
Last season coach Mzwakhe Nkosi was thrown in the deep end and seemingly left to his own devices to lead a team woefully short on experience and BMT. His collection of youngsters were individually all talented – there is no doubt about it – but as a team, they simply failed to gel.
Their failures were quickly exposed and then brutally taken advantage of. The Currie Cup last season was a disjointed affair, as were Nkosi’s selections. His matchday 23 constantly changed as he tried his best to engineer cohesion with the poor hand dealt to him.
It is a season that the coach will no doubt want to forget and who can blame him – Lions fans will certainly harbour the same feelings.
Nkosi suffered then from a policy not of his own making, one that you suspect would have mauled his own confidence and self-belief in his abilities. The general consensus in SA rugby circles is that Nkosi is a fine coach, so to see him experience such misery would have been a major concern.
This Currie Cup season, which Nkosi will once again helm as head coach for the Lions, promises to be different. The Joburgers have decided on a more holistic approach regarding their squad, and Nkosi will be able to select URC players on the fringe and perhaps, every so often, their first choice players.
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The fact of the matter is, that the Lions must do well in this domestic competition. They can ill-afford another disastrous outing as witnessed last term and the year before.
I would even go so far as to argue that their entire recruitment system hinges on the success of their Currie Cup efforts this year. It has offered scant reward these past few seasons and the excuse of developing a young team cannot hold water any longer.
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Nkosi will have that pressure bearing down on him at all times in the expanded tournament, but he has the tactical acumen, and now – hopefully – the players, to at least reach the play-offs of the 2023 Currie Cup.
No other outcome, to my mind, would be acceptable.
IOL Sport