Depleted Lions see 'amazing' future

The Lions may be outside the top 10 on the standings, and one from four in the win column, but they believe they are close to turning the corner.

In fact their theme may as well be the chorus from a hit song by American rock band Aerosmith: “It’s Amazing, With the blink of an eye you finally see the light; It’s Amazing, When the moment arrives that you know you’ll be alright.”

Rookie loosehead prop Caylib Oosthuizen certainly feels the Johannesburg-based outfit is not as far off the pace as most pundits believe, despite a crippling injury list.

“We are really close,” Oosthuizen said, pointing to two bonus points for losing by seven points or less – 28-30 to the Hurricanes, through a last-minute penalty, and 19-24 to the Stormers.

“We are pushing teams, but in the end we just not getting the [right] results,” the 22-year-old prop told this website in an exclusive interview.

Many expect the Lions to become rabble, considering that they have lost more than a third of their entire squad to injury – almost to a man all senior players.

The Lions’ lengthy injury list includes flyhalf Elton Jantjies (foot), scrumhalf Michael Bondesio (hamstring), centre Alwyn Hollenbach (hamstring), centre Waylon Murray (knee), wing Lionel Mapoe (hamstring), prop JC Janse van Rensburg (toe), prop CJ van der Linde (groin), utility forward Wikus van Heerden (concussion), loose forward Michael Rhodes (knee), utility back Dylan Des Fountain (knee) and hooker Bandise Maku (shoulder).

One or two of those may return for Saturday’s Round Six Super Rugby encounter with the seven-time champion Crusaders, but mostly they will remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.

“We are certainly not down,” Oosthuizen told this website, adding: “We are very excited, because every week we believe we can win and you got to have that believe that you can win.

“I feel that win is coming … because the belief [within the team] is really, really strong. I know we are not winning at the moment, and that is not lekker [not pleasant], but the vibe and culture in the team is just really amazing.

“There is a strong vibe and team spirit.”

Asked about the king-size injury list, the prop said they have managed to overcome adversity by drawing on their inner strength.

“Coach Mitch [John Mitchell] places a lot of emphasis on the team,” Oosthuizen said.

“It is not just about the 15 or the 22, it is about the team … the entire squad.

“I think that is what he has done pretty well – he has nurtured the team and when the injuries came other players stepped in and performed quite well.”

It is certainly not going to get any easier for the men in red-and-white, as they face the seven-time champion Crusaders this week – with World Cup winners like Israel Dagg, Zac Guilford, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read, Owen Franks, Ben Franks and Dan Carter on the touring roster.

“Yes, they are a powerful team, but every week we worry about ourselves,” the Lions prop answered, when questioned about the next obstacle.

“We look after our performance and how we are going to play. Obviously you analyse them, how what they bring and how you might want to counter that.

“However, the emphasis is on us and our performance. They are a good team, with a powerful pack of forwards and a dangerous backline, but we are looking forward to the challenge.

“There is a big excitement in the camp for this weekend.”

The other blight on the Lions’ report is that they have tended to be slow out the blocks, often giving the opposition an early lead and then having to play catch-up rugby.

They pulled it out the fire against the Cheetahs in Week One, but last week was a perfect example of how they just fell short – despite a magnificent comeback.

At the end of the first quarter most had probably written off the young, injury-decimated Lions, as the Stormers raced into an 18-0 lead. By the 60-minute mark the Lions had closed that gap down to just 16-18 and two late penalties saw the Stormers edge to a 24-19 win.

Oosthuizen said they have spoken about that a lot.

“I think it is just a mental switch,” the young prop said, adding: “For a lack of a better word, we must be ‘awake’ in the beginning.

“It is very difficult playing catch-up rugby at this level.

“Yes, we are doing well top come back [into the games], but I feel we need to stop conceding those early leads.

“We have spoken about that often and it is all about being mentally switched on from the outset and for the full 80 minutes.”

By Jan de Koning