The Lions roar and go fishing

The final event of  the Currie-Cup season delivered a fairy tale final that even a Hollywood scriptwriter would have dismissed as too idealistic. When the Golden Lions’ bus drove into the stadium on Saturday just moments before the start of the Currie Cup-final, it displayed one word in the window – Believe.

And, when the Lions coach, John Mitchell, was asked prior to the match what his last message to his team was, he said: “Just prove to yourselves that you can be extraordinary.”

The no-name brand of the Lions accepted the challenge and they were  simply extraordinary, beating a Sharks-team loaded with Springbok-reputations 42-16. It was the first Currie Cup-title for the Lions since 1999, and their first home-win since 1950.

But, it was also the second biggest victory in the history of Currie Cup-rugby.

The Lions won convincingly because they were more poised, precise and purposeful than their opponents. They were brutal and clinical in defensive situations, and denied the Sharks quick ball at the breakdowns, where Derick Minnie was supreme.

The Lions boasted only four players with Springbok-jerseys in Elton Jantjies, Wickus van Heerden, CJ van der Linde and Butch James.

But on Saturday, several players put their hands up and invited themselves to a Springbok-trial in 2012.

Also, several Springbok-reputations suffered as the Sharks suffered at the hands of the Lions.

Jantjies showed that the Springbok-incumbent, Morné Steyn, will have his work cut out in 2012.

Jaco Taute was outrageously good at fullback, while Minnie, Franco van der Merwe, Josh Strauss and Pat Cilliers also delivered five-star performances.

Jantjies scored 24 points and hardly put a foot wrong. His decision-making was sound, his running lines exemplary and the diminutive player seldom missed a tackle.

Dan Retief, in the Sunday Times, described this emphatic win as a victory for the man on the shoulder.

There was always a player on hand on the inside or outside of the player in possession, to keep the momentum going or finish the move.

The cohesion and intensity was simply magnificent.

Coach John Mitchell deserves to be saluted.

He took over the Lions when they were in disarray, languishing in sixth position on the Currie Cup-log and having lost 13 of their 13 Super14-matches.

Mitchell has been the apostle of total rugby and his team’s incredible work ethic, 15- man-attacking approach, defensive effort and phenomenal use of the width of the field were characteristics of their transformation.

The question is whether South African Rugby would have the foresight and the preparedness to make a quantum leap by investing in Mitchell as a possible future coach.

Sure, Mitchell has already indicated he is not available, but how keen is SA Rugby to convince Mitchell to change his mind.

The other question that needs to be asked, is whether the national selection committee would be prepared to select a new team in 2012?

Right now, a Springbok team with the following young faces in it, won’t do too badly: Fullback: Patrick Lambie, wings: JP Pietersen and Lwazi Mvovo, centres: Jaque Fourie and Frans Steyn, flyhalf: Elton Jantjies; scrumhalf: Francois Hougaard, eighth man: Dwayne Vermeulen, flanks: Schalk Burger and Heinrich Brüssow, locks: Andries Bekker and Franco van der Merwe, props: Jannie du Plessis and Guthro Steenkamp, hooker: Bismarck du Plessis.

The captain would be Schalk Burger.

There would be several other young players knocking on the door, notably Johan Goosen and Sewes Oosthuizen of Free State, Taute, Strauss, Minnie and Cilliers of the Lions, Johann Sadie, JJ Engelbrecht, Werner Kruger and Dean Greyling of the Bulls, and Willem Alberts and Ryan Kankowski of the Sharks.

But it is one thing having 15 talented individuals on the park, transforming them into a winning outfit that could overwhelm a more talented team, takes coaching talent. That is what Mitchell showed on Saturday, as the Lions emphatically smashed a team with 15 Springboks in their group, and outscoring them three ties to one.

The match on Saturday was also a statement about the depth in South African rugby and its potential to become a world force.

But will SA Rugby be prepared to invest in Mitchell, Eddie Jones or other international coaches?

The SA Rugby bosses have time on their side, as the England tour of South Africa takes place in June 2012.

A decision to employ Allister Coetzee could be a step backwards. Some would say it is the right choice, as it would be an emphatic yes to transformation.

Yet South African rugby also needs to invest in a different form of transformation.

We have been extremely conservative – relying almost exclusively on the pick-up-and-go style of rugby, so out-dated in Australia and New Zealand.

Mitchell has presented SA rugby with a new style, one that proved too strong for the star-studded teams of the Western Province and the Sharks.

“Will SA Rugby be prepared to invest in this new style?” If the answer is yes, it might just give the Springboks the competitive edge when the Castle Tri-Nations campaign starts in July 2012.