AUDIO: Lions captain in doubt for Currie Cup Final
LISTEN as Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi speaks about the injury blow to his captain, PJ Botha and their upcoming Currie Cup Final against Griquas.
The Lions put on a masterclass display against the Boland Cavaliers in their semifinal, thrashing the Wellington-based outfit 67-19 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Nkosi’s side will have an opportunity to redeem themselves after shooting themselves in the foot in the 2024 Final when they opted to play with the clock in the red and conceded a long-range penalty, which former Lion Jordan Hendrikse slotted to secure the domestic trophy from the Johannesburg-based side.
On the downside, the Lions lost their captain, Botha, in the 30th minute due to a knee injury and were replaced by Morne Brandon.
It’s a big blow for Nkosi’s side from a leadership and experience aspect ahead of their biggest game of the season.
Nkosi was unable to comment on the extent of Botha’s injury and is hopeful that it’s not as severe as it initially appeared.
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“The injury to PJ Botha is not good news for us. Hopefully, it’s not a bad outlook. We’re not particularly sure what the extent of his knee injury is.
“On the whole, we’re happy to be back here next week [at Ellis Park].
“It probably wasn’t our most accurate second half, but as the game got scrappier, we became the same, but we’ll take it.”
Nkosi added that they will stick to their identity heading into their second consecutive Final, but not deviate from the game’s basics.
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“We’ll have a similar approach to last year’s Final.
“We’ll live and die by our identity, but rugby is rugby.
“You can’t move away from the important stuff.
“Things like set-piece, quality defence, good discipline, and an accurate kicking game, etc.
“We’d be amiss to not play to our strengths.”
