Earlier this week, a group of Lions visited Chris Baragwanath Children’s Hospital - in partnership with the Reach for a Dream foundation - to deliver toys and for a bit of joy this festive season, proving that there is more to life than just rugby.
As is the reality of this existence, the predisposition is to focus solely on the concerns of the here and now, stressing about current performance and concerns, the task at hand and the deadline looming. Breaking away from that routine can afford an opportunity of introspection and appreciation.
Lions Family... Thank you for your incredible generosity at the Chery Toy Drive. 🎁 The Lions and Chery have joined forces with the Reach for a Dream Foundation to bring joy to the children at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Your acts of kindness are making a difference to their… pic.twitter.com/E7ULBBDKnB
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) December 13, 2023
Success is important, yes, but it can come in many forms and guises; and it is arguably these initiatives that are the true reflection of a great team and a healthy culture.
The Lions have spoken about team culture a lot over the last few seasons – how they are building it, what it means to them, and what it will eventually do. It has been an underlying theme at the union, probed, prodded, and questioned at every loss and controversy.
The players have spoken tirelessly of it, the coaches have evangelised its importance constantly. It has always been there but it is perhaps only this season that it has started to feel tangible.
There is a growing sense that something special is brewing in Doornfontein – that too has been spoken about over the last few years – as the Lions have shown a degree of mettle in their approach to the United Rugby Championship and EPCR Challenge Cup thus far in the 2023/24 season.
They have only won three of their seven matches in the former, but in their losses they are yet to be beaten by seven points or more. Their victories have been hard-fought at times, while both triumphs and disappointments have shown a growing determination and grit that were perhaps missing in previous campaigns.
The recent victory over Perpignan in the Challenge Cup showed a willingness to eke out a win, regardless of how it was achieved and against the accepted DNA of the team. It also showcased a developing depth, a mutation in their maturity, tactics and gameplan, that has perhaps eluded the union in recent times.
When asked why the Lions look and feel so different so far this season, both assistant coach Ricardo Loubscher and scrumhalf Morne van den Berg concluded with the same reasoning.
“For me,” said Loubscher, “it is about continuity as a squad and in the coaches.
“Secondly, it is about clarity on how we want to play the game. Thirdly, we had a great pre-season where we worked on our fitness, on the fundamentals, and the style of play that we want to play.”
It was a thread picked up by Van den Berg, who continued the thought by saying: “It is our third season together as a squad – as a coaching staff and as players.
“The continuity has been building. We have been forming bonds on-and-off-the-field, and we hope this is the start of a really big upward curve.
“We haven’t lost a game without a bonus-point yet this season. At the start of the season we were just climbing, climbing, climbing. We are going to keep climbing and we are going to keep going forward.
“Hopefully, we will get more wins and keep building on the momentum we have at the moment. It has been coming a while and we are only starting to see it now.”
The Lions will finish off the year with a Challenge Cup tie against the Newcastle Falcons on Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm) at Ellis Park. With the unexpected but most welcome victory over Perpignan and four points in the bag in Pool 2 of the tournament, the fixture presents an opportunity to further galvanise the belief within the team.
The Falcons are not in good shape, from a confidence perspective, ahead of the encounter. They have, after all, lost all nine of their matches across all competitions so far this season.
“If you look at their games,” said Loubscher of the English club, “we don’t know what team they are going to pick against us.
“I think we will see a different team in terms of profile. They look against other teams – a team like Leicester, for instance - as soon as it is a power game – in other words, when they face a big pack, a physical team with big backs – it is a struggle for them.
“We must continue with that, and put them under pressure, and force the mistakes. We must stick to our DNA and the way we want to play at home.
“Ja, we have different styles when we go overseas but at home we have a certain style of how we want to play the game.”
That style, as has been witnessed so far this season, has evolved in complexity from what has been seen before. Although it would be easy to expect an attacking game this weekend, it has become so much more.
There is an edge to it now, and the Lions are looking all the better for it.
@FreemanZAR