AUDIO: How the Lions kept their focus on the job at hand
LISTEN as Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi speaks about the challenges his team faced ahead of kick-off against Griquas and their upcoming Currie Cup semifinal challenge.
As it sometimes occurs in the Northern part of South Africa, passing thunderstorms is as normal as a taxi disobeying the laws of the road.
This is exactly what happened ahead of the clash between the Lions and Griquas at Ellis Park, with kick-off being delayed by an hour and 10 minutes.
Nkosi said that the delayed start due to lightning did have an effect on the team, but that they were better prepared and looked after, having encountered something similar in 2023 against the Cheetahs.
The article continues below…
“Yes, those things are challenging. In fact, two years ago, we played against the Cheetahs, and we had a delayed start, which was an absolute nightmare for us.
“But I must commend the match officials and management. Their communication was really good this time around in terms of letting us know all the permutations.
“We were clear on how we could prepare the guys in terms of the warm-up and what would’ve happened if the lightning stuck around, etc.
“Because there was so much clarity, it allowed us to be a bit calmer as opposed to searching for answers the whole time.
“We can take our hats off to the matchday officials.
“During the pre-game, the players wind themselves up, and to bring yourself down and get yourself up again is a challenge for anyone.
“Whether that’s us, Griquas, the match officials and even the fans.
“If you’re sitting in the stands with a beer and you’re hoping for the match to start, but it doesn’t, of course it’s a downer.
“Thankfully, we scored a couple of early tries to get our spirits up.”
Nkosi added that his team will focus on the semifinal first before getting ahead of themselves in playing in a Final.
The article continues below…
“Obviously, that’s in the back of your mind [the Currie Cup Final], but we’ve got to get through this semifinal first.
“This time last year, I sat here and we tried to play down [the occasion] and we went 0-14 down to the Cheetahs in the first 20 minutes of the semifinal.
“We must put our feet firmly on the ground and put on another solid performance next week.”
NEW IN THE APP: Official World Rugby Rankings hub! Compare team rankings side-by-side, with data going back 20 years.
Download the RugbyPass app on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) now!
