Last year after the Currie Cup final in Bloemfontein, in his press conference Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen alluded that they are rebuilding and have a project ongoing, that project has been endorsed by Stormers coach John Dobson.
The Lions pushed the Stormers to their limit on Saturday 15 February in their round 3 Super Rugby encounter. The Stormers nabbed the game right at the death through a Ruhan Nel try. The Lions matched Dobsons side pound for pound physically and exposed their defense as they scored 30 points, being the first team put points against the Stormers after the Hurricanes and Blue Bulls failed to do so. Dobson gave props to the Lions when speaking to the media after the game.
"A lot of people had written the Lions off, you can see what they are trying to do something here. It is a new team, its great what they are doing and you can see how they are trying to play. They caught us at the end, the paradigm at Ellis Park is that the Lions get stronger towards the end. They caught our bigger forwards, at the end Elton Jantjies try was scored between Frans Malherbe and Cobus Wiese, and nobody touched him," said Dobson.
After a successful period in the Super Rugby the where the reached the semi finals for three consecutive season and playing in two finals in 2017 and 2018 coming up second best in both finals. In that period they have lost some senior players like Faf de Klerk, Lionel Mapoe, Ruan Combrink, Malcolm Marx and Warren Whiteley. The loss of those players pushed the Lions towards a rebuild.
Central to the rebuild is Elton Jantjies, someone who was a key figure in their success is now the captain of the side and has been leading from the forefront. In yesterday's afternoons lose he scored 15 points.
"He (Elton Jantjies) is a true professional, adding captaincy to his responsibility list is only going to make him a better player. His new to the role, he is still learning but Elton is that kind of guy that takes on responsibility, so its great for us," said Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen.
The Lions have a bye week before jetting of to Australasia. The tour will prove to be a stiff test for the Lions side and will test how the project is coming.
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