There is a sense of reserved confidence at the Lions at the moment, and it is an optimism that the Joburgers will dearly wish to hold onto in the coming months.
For the first time in the 2020s, the Lions have a handful of Springboks roaming the halls of Doornfontein.
In the United Rugby Championship (URC) last season, they only missed out on top-eight qualification because they had won a match less than the Ospreys.
Meanwhile, in the current Currie Cup season – coached by Mziwakhe Nkosi – the Lions will contest a semi-final for the first time since the 2020/21 Covid-hit season, when they host defending champions the Free State Cheetahs on Saturday at Ellis Park (2.30pm kick-off).
The Lions finished the regular season having lost one clash – a 35-22 defeat to the Sharks in round three.
Win this weekend and they will be in a fantastic position to claim their first silverware, with a home final, since the all-conquering 2015 team.
More importantly, the union keeps developing exciting new talent, as has been the case during the Currie Cup with Renzo du Plessis, Nico Steyn, Sam Francis and Bronson Mills, to name a few.
So, there are reasons to feel positive and enjoy the good vibes ... Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen is certainly feeling it.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say the Currie Cup has been quite exciting for us,” said Van Rooyen during a Vodacom URC media round table yesterday.
“There have been a lot of youngsters and new opportunities. I think we have also been inventive in the way we are playing and the way that we want to play. It’s a big weekend for us.”
At the beginning of the year, the Lions had no active Springboks, but by the end of the URC season they could brag about a handful of players earning their first international caps.
That included the likes of Ruan Venter, Morné van den Berg, Jordan Hendrikse (now at the Sharks), Edwill van der Merwe and Quan Horn.
That, too, has buoyed the whole team through all the ranks, according to Van Rooyen.
“Zero Springboks to five is obviously a massive thing for our squad, if you are talking about belief and talking about youngsters feeling that can make a difference in South African rugby.
“If they play well as a team and as individuals then anything is possible. There is a lot of belief and momentum from the URC to Currie Cup and, hopefully, now from the Currie Cup to the new URC season.”
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Earlier this month, SA Rugby decided to protect the integrity of the Currie Cup final by requesting that the SA franchises start the URC at the end of this month, moving the scheduled derbies of the tournament’s opening round from next weekend to next year.
Several URC Lions squad members are expected to play this weekend, as the Lions continue their pre-season and make a push for Currie Cup glory, but will likely not dominate the matchday 23.
Said Van Rooyen: “There have been a lot of sessions where we have incorporated the Under-21s to train against the Currie Cup squad or to train against the URC team, depending on what the focus was on the day.
“Currently, we are playing a lot of 15 v 15. The immediate focus was more Currie Cup, and a lot of those guys will kick us off in the URC as well. So, luckily we had an outing against the Bulls, which was a little bit more URC- focused.”