Marx: Hopefully next year we can do the deed
After enjoying an “amazing” Super Rugby competition, Lions coach Johan Ackermann will now turn his attention to the defence of the Currie Cup title his team won in emphatic fashion last year.
|||WELLINGTON: After enjoying an “amazing” Super Rugby competition, Lions coach Johan Ackermann will now turn his attention to the defence of the Currie Cup title his team won in emphatic fashion last year.
The Lions will be hot favourites to make it back-to-back triumphs after going through last year’s competition unbeaten, but they will be a much weaker outfit this time round. No less than nine of their players will be running out for the Springboks in the coming weeks and months, while others will be playing in Japan.
So, Ackermann and his coaching team will pretty much start afresh this week, preparing their team for their first assignment this weekend. “It’s now back to the Currie Cup for those players who’re not going to be playing for the Boks,” said Ackermann after his team’s Super Rugby final defeat to the Hurricanes on Saturday.
“It’s been an amazing season so far. There are many more positives than negatives ... we achieved some great victories over the course of the Super Rugby competition, against all the South African teams and also against several of the overseas teams who we’d not beaten before.
“There are a number of things we achieved this year that we’d not done in the past... so I’m proud of what was an amazing season.”
The Lions came up short in the final at a wet, cold and windy Westpac Stadium, but despite losing 20-3 they were never out-played or dominated by their opponents. The Canes simply grabbed two half chances that came their way, wing Cory Jane and flyhalf Beauden Barrett scoring the only tries of a tight and largely defence-minded match.
Most of the match stats favoured the Lions; like metres run, number of carries, defenders beaten and rucks won but the Hurricanes’ impressive press-defence put the Lions’ backs under enormous pressure and the likes of Faf de Klerk and Elton Jantjies were unable to play their natural, quick passing games.
It’s worth noting that the only team this season that were able to seriously ruffle the Lions’ feathers were the Canes. They did it on a dry day at Ellis Park, winning 50-17, and they did it in the wet on Saturday. So, they deserve some credit for that.
Lions hooker Malcolm Marx – the only new cap in the Springboks Rugby Championship squad named on Saturday – said afterwards that it was disappointing to go down in the final in the fashion the Lions did.
“I suppose we could have avoided giving away those two tries,” said Marx. “But credit to them, they played well. It was a great experience and it was a real blessing to play in a Super Rugby final. It’s a dream for any player.”
Marx’s front-row partner Dylan Smith added: “I think we’ll all take a lot out of this final. It was a good experience in the wet and cold.”
Marx and Smith are just two of a host of players who’ll be at it again in Super Rugby next year; with the Lions having secured their best players for the next year or two, at least. Both players believe good things lie ahead.
“We’re blessed to be part of this set-up, with these coaches and the brotherhood we’ve developed here,” said Marx.
“It’s unreal actually ... the way things work here. We love it at the Lions and hopefully next year we can do the deed.”
Lions captain Warren Whiteley was also positive about the coming years. “We’ve already put that springboard in place and results and days like these (losing in an away final) will make us stronger in future.”
“We’ll pretty much have the squad as this year going into the 2017 competition so there’s a lot to be positive about. I’m really looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”
The Lions can, as Hurricanes defence coach John Plumtree said after Saturday’s final, “return to South Africa with their heads held high.”