Twelve defining weeks
It may appear as if all is imploding around the Golden Lions team, but the players are immersed and resolute in achieving their goals.
Despite the ongoing boardroom drama – the franchise's axing from Super Rugby and the arbitration hearing that went against them – the Lions believe they can make a consequential and meaningful statement by retaining the Currie Cup trophy.
The team's new captain, JC Janse van Rensburg, said they had made a pact before the season to stay focussed on the task at hand.
"The uncertainty does exist," Janse van Rensburg told this website in an interview ahead of their Round Three encounter with Western Province.
"As a team we decided that it is 12 weeks [10 league matches and possibly the play-offs] that we have to stay focussed," the burly prop forward said.
"For that period we are definitely still together as a team.
"You never know what players do in their free time, but at the moment it seems not too many players are heading away.
"I can tell you the team and the players are fully focussed on retaining the Currie Cup," he added.
The Lions started their title defence in impressive fashion, a 43-20 demolition of the Free State Cheetahs, before coming unstuck against the Sharks i Durban last week – a 14-0 loss.
The leader of Johannesburg's pride said they are well aware of the errors they made last week, but felt those are issues they can easily fix in training.
"We missed a few one-on-one tackles and we focussed heavily on defence this week," he said about their encounter with WP in Johannesburg on Saturday.
"As disappointing as last week was, the previous week against the Cheetahs the guys implemented everything we worked on in training.
"We put a lot of work in at training this week and hopefully it all comes off against WP – we had a good week of preparation and the guys are very excited."
The 26-year-old, with over 90 games for the Lions in Super Rugby and the Currie Cup, was handed the captaincy at the start of the season – a task he says he "really enjoys".
"What makes it very easy for me is that I have a number of senior leaders in players like Butch [James], Josh [Strauss], Cobus [Grobbelaar] and Franco [van der Merwe] … all established leaders at provincial level," Janse van Rensburg told this website.
"I certainly don't have to make all the calls by myself."
He is a firm believer that a captain has to lead by example and not just be a talker.
"I lead by what I do on the field," he said, adding: "If I have to talk, I will talk, but the guys know me … I do the job and hopefully that gets them to follow me."
Having seen teammate and fellow prop Patrick Cilliers get a Springbok call-up for the Rugby Championship, Janse van Rensburg hope a few more Lions can follow that path.
"I am very happy for Patrick [Cilliers]," he said, adding: "I know how hard we have worked this year in the scrums and Pat is the first one from our pack … hopefully that can lead to more [Bok call-ups]."
As a schoolboy Jacobus Christo Janse van Rensburg represented South Western Districts at the Under-13, Under-16 and Under-18 levels.
In his final year at school he represented South Africa at the 2005 IRB Under-19 World Championships. The Baby Boks won the championship and Janse van Rensburg hasn't looked back since – making his Currie Cup debut in 2007 and Super Rugby debut a year later.
Although an injury suffered in the Currie Cup competition last year curtailed his careers somewhat, he has worked tirelessly and is now back to his best – an integral part of a team determined to prove the doubters wrong.
By Jan de Koning
