A victory for the Lions over the Sharks in Saturday's Currie Cup semifinal at Ellis Park will do South African rugby the world of good, says the last man to plot a Sharks' defeat this season.
Griquas coach Hawies Fourie believes the Lions' fearless brand of rugby may inspire others to follow.
"It will be good for South African rugby if a team like the Lions, with the type of rugby they are playing, should win the Currie Cup," said Fourie.
"I think it will benefit our game quite a lot because teams will realise that an attacking brand of rugby can yield results and that you don't have to be conservative in your approach."
While the Lions have backed themselves, so much so that they were the league stage's top try and overall points scorers, the Sharks have scored fewer tries than the bottom-placed Eastern Province Kings.
To all intents and purposes, they operate with styles bequeathed to them by erstwhile coaches John Mitchell and Jake White.
The Lions won the Currie Cup with a similar attacking style in 2011, but they are an even greater force under Johan Ackermann in this campaign.
The Sharks play the percentages under Brad McLeod-Henderson and thanks to their resilience can grind out wins even when they seem unlikely. They did so splendidly against Western Province last weekend.
There are doubts about whether the Lions can go the distance in this season's Currie Cup. Their three defeats in the league stage were all in away matches against the other teams in the semifinals.
The Sharks' two defeats came against opposition that finished well out of semifinal contention. One of them was arguably the shock of the tournament when Fourie's team beat them in Durban last month.
How would the Lions go about beating the Sharks en route to popularising their brand of play? "They simply have to use their chances," opined Fourie, acutely aware that chances against the team with the best defensive record are few and far between.
"The Sharks have a good pack of forwards but I think the Lions can neutralise them and even put them under pressure. The Lions must get good ball and use their opportunities."
In the end it may come down to whether the Lions' exuberance will break the Sharks' resilience.
TV Highlights
Today
Golf: Hong Kong Open at 8am and 4am (tomorrow) on SS1; World Matchplay Championship at 12.30pm on SS1; Shriners Hospitals for Children Open from Las Vegas at 11pm on SS1
Rugby: European Challenge Cup, Gloucester vs Brive at 8.40pm on SS1
Soccer: Indian League, North East United vs Atletico de Kolkata at 3.30pm on SS9
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