'Distracted' Lions hoping to move on from boardroom drama
REACTION: While the senior management was scrambling to find the ‘leak’ in their boardroom, the Lions’ Currie Cup team produced a pride-restoring performance at the weekend.
It has come to light that Lions Rugby Company Chief Executive Officer Rudolf Straeuli was ‘hard at work’ trying to find the source of the media leaks about the disconnect between his office and the franchise’s coaching staff.
This follows the @rugby365com expose about a frank coaches meeting – including senior coaches – in which the possibility of a confrontation with the CEO was raised.
As @rugby365com reported, an audio recording of the coaches’ meeting revealed a number of troubling issues.
The bulk of the indignation was directed at the CEO, Straeuli, and Tracy van Ginkel, the manager of Contracts and Operations at the Lions Rugby Company.
This revelation came on the eve of the Lions’ Currie Cup Round Two trip to Nelspruit at the weekend.
* To read more about the coaches’ meeting, CLICK HERE!
Lions Currie Cup coach Mzwakhe Nkosi admitted that the players and coaches are “only human” and the release of the @rugby365com exclusive the day before a game had an impact.
“Everyone has to do their jobs,” a reflective coach said, adding: “Our job is to fight really hard to get the players as focused as possible.
“I would be lying to you if I said those off-field issues are not a distraction to the team and our preparation.
“You [the media] have to do your job and we have to do our jobs, so we [as coaches and a team] have to move on.”
Nkosi spoke of the ‘errors’ that cost his team a narrow 27-34 loss in Nelspruit at the weekend.
“There were lapses in concentration,” he said, adding that they felt ‘hard done by’ with one or two decisions.
The Lions will now turn their ‘focus’ – if they can – away from the boardroom drama and to their Round Three Currie Cup encounter with the Griffons at Ellis ark this coming Friday.
Both teams are winless after two rounds and desperate in need of a victory in order not to lose any more ground in the play-off race.
@king365ed
@rugby365com
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