VIDEO: Lions' bench brought the goods says coach

VIDEO: Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi lauded his bench for victory over the Cheetahs in the Saturday Currie Cup semifinal at Ellis Park.

The Lions had a fight on their hands as the Cheetahs got out in front early by 14-0, then 19-14 and later led by 29-26.

In the end, the home side took the lead after Nohamba took to the field. The nippy flyhalf scored a sterling individual try which he converted to stretch the Lions’ lead to 36-29.

The replacement hooker Morne Brandon produced one of the most ungraceful but dramatic tries one is likely to see, but his speed caught the Cheetahs completely off guard.

“When Sanele [Nohamba] came on he made a bit of a difference. We got width in our game beating their rush defence and catching them narrowly. There are one or two things we might have to sharpen up,” Nkosi said.

He was not surprised by the performance of Brandon and tried to explain what an athlete the hooker is.

“Against Western Province Morne Brandon turned around and outsprinted all our backs to save us.

“So he is a game factor, it is unfortunate that he plays behind the captain. He can be a starter.

“Siba had an impact when he replaced [Ruan] Venter, he turned the corner nicely.

“Hopefully we can see more of that.

“It is the finals next week, it is what it is, we’ve got to throw the kitchen sink at them.

The coach was the first to admit that his side did not have the perfect start and some aspects were below par.

“I can’t say it was a spectacle.

“We worked really hard to dig ourselves out of a hole at 14-0 down. For us to get to halftime even-steven was good,” said Nkosi about the Lions’ recovery that saw them locked at 19-all at the break.

“Our inability to exit! They would kick deep and we couldn’t get out. If we exited better we would have created a bit of clear water between us.”

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“I thought our line-out was outstanding, I thought Darrien Landsberg was outstanding. The maul defence, that’s the dark arts.

“That was probably the first game we didn’t score a maul try. That is something we have to sharpen up on.

“They were the defending champions so they weren’t coming here to roll over and play dead were they?

Nkosi was clearly ecstatic about reaching the final and spoke about the tough journey to mold the youngsters into the winning team.

“Two years ago we lost nine in a row. Personally, I take a hell of a lot of pride. Not many coaches bounce back from that. Other coaches at other franchises got binned.

“For the franchise it is huge. We perhaps haven’t had the riches other franchises have had. We have set ourselves high ambitions. What a story it would be if we go out and win it next week?”

“The goal was to get us to Ellis Park.

“The game model doesn’t change, but the mindset will change.

“It’s a do-or-die game, so we will have to throw the kitchen sink at them.”