The Fidelity Securedrive Lions may feel like they’ve suddenly hit form but the confidence within the side is so high at the moment that this team can go all the way to the Vodacom United Rugby Championship final.
Or at least that is what they believe. Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys was asked how far this team could go given their recent form and he agreed that there wasn’t a reason they couldn’t go all the way if they continue the same form that has gotten them to fourth on the log.
The Lions face a tough run in during the last three weeks of the competition, facing a Connacht team that beat the Stormers last weekend in Johannesburg before departing for Ireland to face defending champions Leinster and Munster. All three of these sides are still jockeying for positions in the top eight and that makes their task a lot more difficult.
But for a side that has not qualified in its history for the top eight, going into the last three weeks of the competition sitting in fourth spot is not something they are used to. But it is something they are truly enjoying at the moment.
They have played some exceptional rugby and beat log leaders Glasgow by 50 points this past weekend and while that doesn’t make them champions it certainly underlines that they aren’t the same Lions team of the past few seasons and with belief, they feel anything is possible.
CAN THE LIONS GO ALL THE WAY?
So when Redelinghuys smiled when he was asked the question it is understandable, even though he puts his own, rather obvious, asterisk on the answer.
“We have a good enough team, we are well set with our game model at the moment, and we are physical enough. I think there are all the possibilities that we can, if we carry on playing good rugby,” Redelinghuys said.
“And that is the big thing, we need to carry on playing good rugby. What is lekker, is that we have consistency now. You guys have hammered us on that and we are there now. So if we play well and are consistent, we give ourselves a good chance.”
But have the Lions adjusted their goals yet. At the beginning all the talk was of making the top eight and they are on the brink of that right now. So shouldn’t the goals have shifted and adjusted according to their form?
“The goal is always to qualify. That has been the first goal and it remains the goal. We have gotten ourselves in the position and now we need to see how well we can do. For now though, we have to concentrate on Connacht - because that secures us a top eight position.
“After that we’re on tour - playing Leinster and Munster in Ireland and we know it won’t be easy, but we are in a position where we can approach them game for game and feel confident we can do well.
FOCUS ON CONNACHT
“After that it is concentrating on the playoffs. But our focus point is not log positions, Connacht are a bloody good team, so we need to concentrate on them.”
Connacht will come to Ellis Park full of confidence having taken the points on offer in Cape Town and know they too have to keep on winning if they want to be in the playoffs.
That is what makes this weekend so intriguing from a prediction standpoint. The Lions should be favourites at home after a fifty point victory, but they face some stern opposition in their final regular season home game.
THIS SEASON THE TEAM IS STRONGER
Still, this isn’t the same Lions team from the past few seasons and they are remarkably better. And there are reasons for that.
“There are a lot of factors. We went out of the EPCR Challenge Cup early, which was sad, but ultimately was good for us now. We had two weeks to prepare for Glasgow. They had a Champions Cup Round of 16 and a quarterfinal and they had to travel,” Redelinghuys explained.
“So there are many factors - the guys who came into the squad have made a massive difference - guys like Chris Smith. The group has more caps between them, so the depth is better, the coaching gets better.
“It feels like it's overnight, but there has been a lot of work coming into this. And the team is well set up for the next few seasons as well.”
For now they can just enjoy the ride and continue with the way they’ve played up to now. They’re finally consistent and are playing with confidence. But the key will be the way the next three weeks go.
When the playoffs come, home ground advantage will be key to all the sides involved.
And if they can achieve that, who will bet against them going all the way. It is a long shot, and the odds are against them, but thus far this season the Lions have dispelled all the beliefs about their play.
Who is to say they can’t do it for a few more weeks?