The Golden Lions may be sitting in a commanding position having won three out of four games in the Currie Cup so far, but if truth be told, they have been far from convincing.
In their three wins they have had to come back from being behind at half-time - against the Pumas, Western Province and Free State Cheetahs - and last week they also trailed the Blue Bulls at the interval. On that occasion they had too much to do to catch the Bulls in the second half and their luck finally ran out. So confidence can’t be all that high in the Lions camp at the moment - unlike the Sharks, who they host in a round six match at Ellis Park today (2pm kick-off).
The Sharks, while not as high up on the log as the Lions following their two-from-four record, go into today’s match in fairy upbeat mood having beaten Free State last week, and knowing a win will see them into the top four. A Lions win, with a bonus point, would see Ivan van Rooyen’s team into top spot, but if the Joburg side are to achieve their goal they’re going to have to start better than they have up to now and play the full 80 minutes.
“Our slow starts is one of the areas we reflected honestly on in our reviews this last week and we know we have to be tactically smarter than we’ve been up to now,” said Van Rooyen.
“The decisions we’ve been making in the early exchanges need to be better. There’s certainly been no lack of effort or energy ... it’s just the decision-making hasn’t been great.”
At home this year, the Lions have beaten the Pumas and lost to the Bulls, while the Sharks on the road have lost to the Pumas; this being only their second match away from Durban.
While the Lions have been able to welcome the experienced Cyle Brink back from injury for the match - a big boost for the young side - the Sharks have lost a few key men to injury this week, among them flyhalf Curwin Bosch and prop Coenie Oosthuizen.
Coming in at 10 for his debut is former Cape schools flyhalf sensation Boeta Chamberlain; a player Lions defence coach Sean Erasmus knows well, having coached him at Paarl Boys High. “Yep, Sean knows a bit about Boeta; so we know who we’re up against,” said head coach Van Rooyen. “He’s a player with a big boot, he’s got some pace and good feet, so it’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
There are, however, a number of seasoned men in the Sharks team to guide Chamberlain - like Kobus van Wyk, JP Pietersen, Lwazi Mvovo and up front Tera Mtembu, Jacques Vermeulen, Hyron Andrews and Ruben van Heerden. On paper the Sharks look like a team that could cause all sorts of problems for a young Lions side that has enjoyed plenty of luck and good fortune at times this season, but at the same time one senses a strong, commanding Lions performance is just around the corner. It should be a crackerjack affair.