The Lions are breaking the South African mould, but the 'lucky' 13 position looms as a problem

Most winners, both in sport and outside it, reach the point where they have to break the mould or even the rules in order to attain their objective. Johan Ackermann’s Lions are no different.

SARU is one of a number of South African sporting federations who have come under legal challenge from the trade union Solidarity and civil rights group Afriforum on their strict enforcement of “unlawful racial quotas”, which (they allege) violate the rules and regulations of international sporting bodies across the world.

The national cricket team, the Proteas, committed in 2016 to the selection of at least six players (or 54 per cent) of black or coloured origin in their XI.

In rugby, the plan is to have a ratio of 50 per cent black or coloured players in the Springboks by the time the World Cup begins in Japan in 2019. Even by next year, the Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula, has forecast the following transformation targets: 45 per cent of national team rugby players to be either black or coloured, 60 per cent of nationally-accredited coaches and full-time staff to be the same.

The Lions are the most dynamic and positive force in South African rugby. Since Ackermann took over in 2014, they have showed steady on-field improvement, winning seven games in his first year as head coach, followed by nine wins in 2015 and eleven last season.

The Lions were beaten in the final by the Hurricanes in 2016, but this year they have the benefit of home advantage and winning momentum behind them, with only one loss in sixteen matches so far this term.

They have posted the highest average home attendances in South Africa this year (at 26,000 per game), so people clearly like what they see from the Johannesburg-based franchise.

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

They also have seven starters in the current Springbok Test team. In rugby at least, look behind the springbok and the protea and right now you will find a red, black and white lion.

In the current season, the national coach Alister Coetzee is required to select a team made of at least 40 per cent black and coloured players, and would be hoping for support from the Super Rugby franchises in achieving that target.

The Lions’ 40-man squad announced to start the Super Rugby season contained eleven coloured/black players in it, a 27.5 per cent ratio. Those players were as follows:

Wingers: Madosh Tambwe, Sylvian Mahuza, Courtnall Skosan**, Anthony Volmink
Centres: Lionel Mapoe**, Howard Mnisi*,
Fly-half: Elton Jantjies**
Back-rowers: Hacjivah Dayimani, Fabian Booysen
Second-rower: Marvin Orie
Prop: Sti Sithole
** current Springboks, * South Africa ‘A’ representative

The Lions team which beat the Hurricanes over the weekend contained only three black or coloured starters in Mapoe, Skosan and Jantjies (15 per cent), with another on the bench in the shape of Mahuza – just four players out of 23.

It is hardly the case that Ackermann does not want the black or coloured players under his watch to succeed:

“The players who we’ve got in our squad have all shown they belong at this level… but we must also be fair with them, like we are with all the youngsters coming through. They’ve got to be able to handle the pressure and make the right decisions. Also, if we give them a chance, we’ve got to give them a fair chance, not just a one-off game.”

That sounds eminently sensible, doesn’t it? You put the players in when you can give them a long run in the side, and when they are mentally equipped to handle pressure and make good decisions consistently under the force of that pressure. You do not force the issue.

The Lions head coach and the team he oversees have succeeded largely by breaking the mould set out for them by their political masters. I suspect Ackermann knows only too well the huge reservoir of black and coloured talent he has available, but is concerned to develop it methodically and organically.

Many of the issues are epitomised by his young number eight Hacjivah Dayimani. Dayimani was born of a Xhosa mother and a Jewish Nigerian father who boxed professionally under the name ‘Frank Times’. Even his first name is an uneasy alliance of Hebrew and Sangoma:

“He [Dayimani’s father] wanted to name me Akiva, and my mother wanted to name me Mpumelelo, which roughly translates to achiever in English. So they decided on Hacjivah because it included Akiva and also sounded like achiever.”

Dayimani, who runs a 10.7-second 100 metres and 21-second even 200, struggled to find his natural position, starting at second row, then moving to eighth-man, with perhaps even more potential at centre in the professional game.

Like other elite coaches in South Africa, Ackermann knows that his natural athletic talent must be harnessed somewhere – but in what position? As the distribution of the Lions squad illustrates, most of the top black or coloured talent tends to gravitate to either the back three or the back row – Siya Kolisi, Oupa Mohoje, Nizam Carr and Sikhumbuzo Notshe in the national back-row; Skosan, Raymond Rhule and Dillyn Leyds in the back three.

The appearance of black or coloured players in key decision-making positions is a far rarer occurrence, and in that respect, Elton Jantjies is still struggling to make his mark at international level.

Maybe their emergence will take as long as it took for black quarterbacks to shatter the glass ceiling in the NFL? And maybe it will be the Sharks’ Curwin Bosch who shatters it once and for all, not Jantjies?

The fate of outside centre Lionel Mapoe in the Lions-Hurricanes semi-final demonstrated the difficulty that South African rugby is experiencing in the integration of black or coloured players in key decision-making positions.

(Photo by Gallo Images/Getty Images)

General defensive structure, and back-line defence in particular, is often run from the outside centre position at elite level.

It is no accident that the British and Irish Lions were able to dominate this aspect of play through the excellent Jonathan Davies in the recent Test series against New Zealand. Once Ryan Crotty went down injured in the first Test, the All Blacks lost their own leading defensive light and Davies’ chief rival in that department of the game.

It is likewise no accident that Conrad Smith and Brian O’Driscoll were associated with such successful national sides for well over a decade – Ireland in the north, the All Blacks all over the world.

The position is the key to defensive decision-making on the outside half of the field, and this is where the Hurricanes chose to launch most of their attacks against the Lions:

This frame shows the basic choices available in a number 13’s armoury. He can press up on to the ball-carrier, he can drift off towards the touchline or he can ‘jockey’ – an even more passive form of the drift designed to buy time when the defence is fully overlapped.

Whatever system he plays in, the 13 will always be required to have a mastery of all these potential defensive options. It is up to him to decide which is most appropriate to the situation as it presents itself.

The Hurricanes scored their second try from a lineout in which they directly challenged Mapoe’s decision-making in the 13 channel:

We can break down the key points of the process in the following three frames:

The Hurricanes’ basic aim is to free up their number ten, Beauden Barrett, and his back three-type speed in space. They construct a move in which the blindside winger, Nehe Milner-Skudder, enters the line at first receiver, with number 12 Ngani Laumape at second receiver and Barrett circling around behind them.

The idea is to draw Mapoe on to the threat of Vince Aso just outside Laumape in order to create the room on the outside for Barrett.

In the second two frames, we can see clearly that Mapoe has taken the bait, even though the Lions’ number 12, Harold Vorster, has Aso covered in the shot from behind the posts. Mapoe has voluntarily given up his ability to link up with right wing Ruan Combrinck via the drift option and the Lions pay the ultimate price.

The ‘Canes also targeted Mapoe from a midfield scrum only eight minutes later:

With the Lions choosing to cover four Canes’ attackers out to their right with only three back-line defenders of their own (number nine Ross Cronje, number 13 Mapoe and number 14 Combrinck) the drift is the natural weapon of choice, bringing the far sideline into play as an extra defender.

However, Barrett takes a few steps forward before releasing the wide pass to Wes Goosen, and that is enough to persuade Mapoe to forget Barrett is properly Cronje’s man and ‘stop and sit down’ in defence. There is a domino effect outside him, with Combrinck forced to stop in order to remain connected to Mapoe, and that in turn creates the room necessary to free Goosen down the sideline.

The final example occurred in the second half (see the highlight reel at 55:08-55:18):

There is no chance to drift and give up metres to the Canes’ overlap in this instance, with play already so very close to the Lions’ goal-line.

There is no choice but to rush up and cut off the play at source, but neither Courtnall Skosan (1) nor Mapoe (2) show enough urgency to close down the receivers opposite them (Barrett and Dane Coles respectively) and prevent the ball getting through the hands to Laumape on the outside.

Summary
Very few people break through to the highest level of their own chosen endeavours without breaking moulds and making their own rules.

South Africa’s own Lions are no exception. Under John Ackermann’s guidance, they have chosen to integrate black and coloured talent more slowly and methodically than demanded by their political masters.

In the long term, I believe their actions will prove to be truly beneficial to the careers of players like Hacjivah Dayimani. They will get a run when they are ready to face the music and be able to cope with adversity, and they will get a prolonged opportunity to prove their value to the team.

I also believe that this policy will, in time, produce more capable and Test-ready black and coloured players in the key decision-making positions.

Lionel Mapoe is a very talented outside centre who has fifteen Springbok caps to his name, but has in my opinion never been taught to defend in a manner which can really benefit the teams of which he is a part. As a result, there is always an (avoidable) question-mark over the Lions and Springboks’ defence in the 13 channel when he is starting.

Will it cost the Lions the 2017 Super Rugby title against the Crusaders? Their momentum in other areas of the game may well prove irresistible enough to overcome the specific weakness.

But then again, maybe Ryan Crotty will show the value of a defensive organiser who has seen and found an answer to most of the attacking scenarios that rugby union has to offer.