Secret of Lions’ success

With a bye this week, the Lions are sitting pretty after registering three wins from four games in the early stages of the Super Rugby season.

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With a bye this week, the Lions are sitting pretty after registering three wins from four games. They have several home games to come so coach Johan Ackermann will be upbeat about his team’s chance of featuring in the play-offs this season. Here Jacques van der Westhuyzen looks back at the factors that have put the Joburg team in a very handy position

Attacking philosophy

The Lions have continued where they left off last year, keeping ball in hand and looking to score tries. They’ve managed 15 in four games - the third best behind the Chiefs (19) and Brumbies (16). Their players have also beaten the most defenders (115), with the next best team being the Rebels, with 97 defenders beaten.

They’re also second on metres made with ball in hand (2 118m), third with the number of carries (477) and fourth with the number of clean line-breaks (43). The players have also made 52 offloads in the tackle, the second most behind the Chiefs (57), proof how they’re always looking to keep the ball alive.

No other South African team tops the Lions in the above statistics after four rounds, with Howard Mnisi, Ruan Combrinck, Elton Jantjies and Faf de Klerk standing out among the best ‘attacking players’ in the competition.

Inside centre Mnisi is 14th best, with 41 ball carries, Combrinck is 17th with 40, while the right wing leads the field in metres run (360m) and is fourth for defenders beaten (17) and fifth for number of clean breaks (eight).

Jantjies has made the sixth most offloads (seven) and De Klerk the fifth most number of passes (245).

Set pieces

With a number of powerhouse props in the ranks, Ackermann has again been able to rotate his players from one game to the next, but it’s been Julian Redelinghuys and young Dylan Smith who’ve come up tops as the leading front-rankers. But, in Ruan Dreyer, Jacques van Rooyen and Corne Fourie, the Lions have outstanding back-up in the prop department and the Lions scrum has again been a major weapon for them. Only against the Highlanders did the Lions battle at scrum-time - something Redelinghuys said was due to some technical problems - but the Lions have, otherwise, been outstanding.

Hooker Malcolm Marx has also enjoyed a stunning start to the season - his scrumming is powerful, but it’s been his throwing in at line-out time that has hugely impressed. And in Franco Mostert and Andries Ferreira the Lions have two locks who do the business up front, but also in the loose.

 

Defence

Captain Warren Whiteley hasn’t quite hit the top tackling form he had last year when he led the stats for just about the whole season, but he and his charges have again shown they’re a team that not only focuses on running with the ball, as they can tackle, too.

The Lions are 11th in tackle success with 84 percent, but it’s a very tight category with the Crusaders leading the way with 88 percent.

They’ve shown tremendous fight and character in defence in all their games up to now, with Cheetahs boss Franco Smith saying on Saturday the Lions are now a more complete side because they have added a powerful defensive system to their already dangerous attacking mindset. “They’re now a complete team and are real contenders to take it all the way,” said Smith. “Their defence was exceptional against us (on Saturday).”

Individual brilliance

The Lions are without question a tight-knit unit, a side who play for each other, their coach and the union, but certain individuals have again stood out, playing a massive role in the early stages of the competition.

Wing Combrinck has arguably been the Lions’ best player, performing week-in and week-out. His attacking runs and ability to power his way through the smallest gaps have caught the eye, but he’s also stood tall in defence, while his big boot makes him an asset at the back.

Courtnall Skosan and Mnisi have had their moments, but De Klerk and Jantjies have been brilliant from the start, driving the Lions’ attack, while up front the standout player has been hooker Marx.

He’s done everything asked of him and more, but not far behind have been Whiteley and Redelinghuys.

Looking ahead

Happily, the Lions still have Jantjies in their midst. It was feared he might have had to undergo surgery to his left wrist yesterday (he injured it against the Cheetahs on Saturday), ruling him out of action for some time. But the injury is not as serious as first feared, and the pivot will be available for the Lions’ next game against the Crusaders. However, injured centre Harold Vorster won’t be back before the latter stages of the Currie Cup, and he will be sorely missed.

The Lions have seven home games to come and only one outside of the country’s borders - right at the end of the competition against the Jaguares in Beunos Aires - so they’ll be a confident bunch going into April. Emirates Airline Park has become a fortress and a venue teams again fear coming to, so it’s looking pretty promising for Ackermann and Co. - The Star