SA Rugby

[Bullrush]

I'm interested to know what the big difference is between the Currie Cup teams and the Super Rugby teams?

Why do the Lions win the CC but can hardly win a game in Super Rugby?

 

[qwerty51]

Injuries have not been kind to the Lions

 

[Bullrush]

Injuries have not been kind to the Lions

But it's not like the Lions are usually dominant in Super Rugby in most other years....

 

[Blue]

The reason the Lions did so well last year in the CC is that they took almost 100% the same squad out of Super rugby into CC because the list no players to the Boks and kept continuity. Teams like the Bulls and Stormers were playing CC rugby with depleted squads and used a lot of youngsters. As a result the derbies were generally not as manic as they usually are. By the time the Boks came back the Lions confidence was sky high and they had stitched up a finals spot already. WP had a lot of injuries and were playing with about a fifth choice flyhalf when the finals came around and the returning Boks looked finished.

Also in CC there are some weeks that are a little easier because you are not playing a top side every week.

I don't think the Lions would have won it last year if it was not a World Cup year.

At Super Rugby level where they are up against a top team almost every week they are being exposed. A lot of their players are simply journeymen who in some instances are even lucky in my opinion to play at thiis level.

The Sun, Moon and stars aligned for them in the CC last year and I don't think it will happen again soon unless they recruit better players.

It also didn't help thsi year that the organisation was near bankruptcy.

 

[qwerty51]

But it's not like the Lions are usually dominant in Super Rugby in most other years....

huh? They're missing a lot of key players from that CC group. Their attack has not been the same without Jantjies consistently at 10, Killian, Doppies, Bondesio etc. Also missing Rhodes, van Heerden and Maku in the pack. They don't have any depth.​

 

[Brisbok]

But it's not like the Lions are usually dominant in Super Rugby in most other years....

True, they have been weak for a number of years. John Mitchell had started to turn them around last year, but as Blue and Qwerty have noted, they are missing a number of players and they really don't have much depth. If they had been able to start Super Rugby with the same team that won the Currie Cup last year they would have been a lot more competitive, although perhaps a mid-table team at best.

As we all know, in a tough competition such as Super Rugby, injuries are inevitable and cannot be used as an excuse. I don't think Mitchell has been there long enough to develop the depth to cope with these injuries, nor has he been helped in his recruitment by the financial struggles at the union.

It's hard to see the Lions digging themselves out of the hole they are in this season and it is looking more and more likely that they will be relegated from Super Rugby at the end of this season and that could be quite disastrous for the future of the union.

 

[Cave Dweller]

True, they have been weak for a number of years. John Mitchell had started to turn them around last year, but as Blue and Qwerty have noted, they are missing a number of players and they really don't have much depth. If they had been able to start Super Rugby with the same team that won the Currie Cup last year they would have been a lot more competitive, although perhaps a mid-table team at best.

As we all know, in a tough competition such as Super Rugby, injuries are inevitable and cannot be used as an excuse. I don't think Mitchell has been there long enough to develop the depth to cope with these injuries, nor has he been helped in his recruitment by the financial struggles at the union.

Not disagreeing with just want to raise/ask a couple of questions.

1. It is franchise based. So team A will same as team B wll same as Team C get a slice of the pie concerning funds.

2. Depth question. Again it is franchised base. One massive pool of rugby players divided into 5. If I look in the Vodacom Cup I see depth but its not being used like it should be.

 

[PaarlBok]

What Blue qouted. Just want to add that the Bok players returning for the business end of the CC it was a disruption teams like WP and Sharks. Bulls just fell out of the semis. I have always admired a team like Griquas who do excellent in Vodacom Cup and Currie Cup. Kimberley is a place where many teams with Springbokke included falls.

Lions was last year in form at the right time of the competition. The injuries this year did not help them.