Lions reap rewards of standout season

29 October 2014 - 02:02 By Liam del Carme
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Tough times made Johan Ackermann tougher
Tough times made Johan Ackermann tougher

Lions coach Johan Ackermann thinks his team is already better prepared for Super rugby than they were a year ago.

Ackermann contends that continuity in selection, as well as a clearer grasp of their playing style, makes them eminently better equipped for next season's competition.

This season they had their best Super rugby finish yet as the Lions made it to the final of the Currie Cup and in a remarkable turn-around have as many players in the Springbok touring squad to Europe as the Blue Bulls.

The Lions have produced five new Boks this year and that hasn't happened for over a decade.

Ackermann says much of the work started last year, which means they can now fine-tune an area that was at the heart of their turn-around this season - individual skill.

"Last year we spent time on playing patterns and our basic skills," the coach said.

"We also overhauled our defensive system last December. We had to lay foundations.

"Now those individual skills can get more attention. We don't have to explain things from scratch to players. We are a few steps further down the road now than we were last season."

That is partly due to the fact that "the lights went on" for the Lions while on tour in New Zealand.

"Our skills level is the most improved area of our game. After our away game against the Chiefs we spoke for a long time to their coaches. We weighed up playing pattern versus skills as well as players' decision-making.

"The big thing that came out of that discussion is that players' decision-making has to improve and that their skills level is high enough so that they can do that under pressure," Ackermann said.

"You can have a beautiful game plan, but it comes to naught if the players can't execute it.

"Since then we spent an awful lot of time on individual skills and decision-making under pressure. That was the light that went on for us. We merely gave the players a framework within which to operate. The decision-making was in their hands.

"We will also look at who we can rope in from the Pumas and Leopards. Rudi Mathee did great work for us at lock and Faf (de Klerk) at scrumhalf. Faf was injured for a large part of the Currie Cup and we'll get him ready in the off-season."

The only player the Lions will lose is Willie Britz, who is transferring to the Cheetahs.

Lions main benefactor and deputy president Altmann Allers endorses the youth policy but recognised that the player pool had to be broadened.

"The World Cup is next year and we don't know if the Springboks will be declared off-limits," he said, raising a concern that may not have been one a week ago.

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