Lions showing that 'Too Much Rugby' works

OPINION: It wasn’t too long ago that the Lions were accused of playing “too much rugby” and “running the ball from everywhere”.

Those who fall more on the “traditional” side opposed the Lions’ reliance on their attacking game, that they ran the ball from deep, and that they didn’t rely on the set-pieces to win games.

“Too much rugby” had a negative connotation. And more often than not, those negative connotations would be attached when things didn’t go too well.

For years, rugby fans were almost too cautious to read too much into good performances from the Johannesburg-based side. Strong performances were often seen as isolated events. Good form was temporary. Too often, there was cautious optimism at most.

That cautious optimism probably wasn’t always unwarranted.

This time last year, the Lions were sitting in 14th place after a 0-42 thrashing by Glasgow Warriors plummeted them down the standings.

They had enjoyed a promising start to the season and had orchestrated a four-match winning streak, beating Ulster 35-22, thumping Edinburgh 55-21, overcoming the Dragons 23-19, and edging Zebre Parma 10-9. That unbeaten run took them to second place on the log after five rounds.

They ended the season in 11th spot after failing to win their last block of matches at home; they only managed to win two of the four fixtures at Ellis Park.

This season, there’s reason to be optimistic again. And it feels different to past seasons.

To date, the Lions’ best finish after the regular season of the United Rugby Championship was ninth. They have never made a URC play-off, but this season, they look well on track to feature in the top eight.

The Lions have been in superb form and go into the URC break on a high after winning four on the trot against the Sharks (34-22), the Stormers (24-10), Edinburgh (54-17), and the Dragons (42-26). And they didn’t just string together pedestrian wins; they did it in style.

They scored 154 points and 21 tries across those four games, a perfect illustration of the threat they pose on attack. To make things even more impressive, a number of those tries were try-of-the-season quality.

What makes the Lions’ attacking exploits even more noteworthy is how well they’ve looked after the ball while staying true to their style of rugby.

They have conceded 173 turnovers, the least of the South African teams, while winning 85. They have also produced the most offloads (168), while the Bulls have scored a single try more (58) than the Lions (57).

They’re not just playing a game that looks good; they’re getting other aspects right as well.

They have a stronger defence, their physicality has also been on the up, they are unmatched when it comes to their potency from transition, and, of course, there’s the reliability they have in the general’s role.

You can’t look at what the Lions are getting right this season without mentioning flyhalf Chris Smith. It would be criminal not to. The Lions’ No. 10 is the leading points-scorer in the competition with 123 points.

With four rounds of regular-season action remaining, a lot can still change. Only three points separate the Lions in fifth from the Bulls in eighth, and dropping two or more of their upcoming games, and the teams bordering the top-eight cut-off winning their remaining matches, could see the Lions miss out on play-off action again.

Their four remaining matches are all but easy draws – they have two home games against the table-topping Glasgow Warriors (April 18 ) and Connacht (April 25 ), who are in ninth spot, before travelling to Ireland to face defending champions Leinster (May 9 ) and seventh-placed Munster (May 16 ), respectively.

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But, again, there’s reason to be optimistic.

As a whole, the Lions have just worked this season. They have stuck to their attacking strengths and sharpened their game in other areas.

They didn’t change the way they play; they’re not playing more cautiously, they’re still playing “high risk” rugby, if you will. They’re just doing a lot of things better, and they’re doing it better more consistently.

And if there’s one thing they’ve proved, it’s that there’s no such thing as playing too much rugby.