Lions’ main shareholder Allers says he won’t react to public hysteria

Altmann Allers, the majority shareholder of the Lions, says there is no reason to panic, adding they will not bow to external pressure in the wake of the team's poor run of results.

The Lions suffered their sixth defeat in their last seven matches when they went down 29-7 in the United Rugby Championship (URC) to the Sharks at Ellis Park last Saturday which has sparked furious reaction from their fans.

Allers however says he will not be pressed into drastic action and that there is no reason to replace the coaches, something many of the team's fans are agitating for.

“Must I now fire the entire coaching team including the masseuse. No, I'm not going to do it,” says Allers.

“People say we must act. If you make changes to the coaching team it might have an immediate positive affect, but it might not.”

He says the poor results should not exclusively be attributed to the coaching. “I think everyone needs to look at themselves. What could we have done better?”

There had been much speculation of late about the future of the Lions' coaching team spearheaded by Ivan van Rooyen. The Lions have extended the contract of defence coach Jaque Fourie by another two years but the rest of the coaching staff may have to wait before their know their fate.

“There are terms which lay out when we can negotiate,” Allers pointed out. “We will have a look at how the season plays itself out. June, July we will make a final call.

“I have to see where we can improve. By the same token we can't just react based on hysteria from the public, especially people who only look at the final score. That isn't always a reliable indicator of what happened or the effort that went in.

“I'm not going to panic and start chasing people away and appoint new people. That is not what we are about. We have definite goals we are working towards.

“Though the results are not what I had hoped for, there is no need for us to try something else.”

Allers argues the team is pointing in the right direction. “On the whole I believe this is a team on the up. This is a very tough competition. People will say that was the Sharks B-team to which I'd say 'bullsh*t!'”

Allers contended the team is showing more with ball in hand and are no longer attacking off scraps that Fourie has improved in the defence and that forwards coach Albert van den Berg has upped their success in the line-outs.

According to the competition's stats the team ranks 16th in attack and they occupy 12th spot for defence.

“This is a developing team, and I'm not using the excuse that it is a young team,” says Allers. “If you're good enough you are old enough. There were times when a lack of experience showed.”

He also pointed to a long injury list. “If you lose seven players there isn't a supermarket to get others.”

As far as reinforcing the squad is concerned, the Lions' purse strings will remain tight.

Allers said their window for contracting players is still open. “There are players we want to have a look at that needs exposure. The Currie Cup only starts in two weeks.”

Last Saturday's defeat served as another reminder of how the Lions have slipped in the South African conference. They have not won a derby match since December 2021.

“Some of the other teams have not developed their teams from scratch,” says Allers. “They bought players. How sustainable is that? Are their models sustainable?

“The Stormers are under administration and in theory should not be able to add players. They do it and they do it well and I don't want to take anything away from them. We do know that the wheel in rugby turns.”

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.