In the end, it went according to script. The Crusaders were indeed too good, too well-drilled, too relentless on their way to securing an incredible ninth Super Rugby title, beating the Lions for the second straight season in the decider.
A scoreline of 37-18 was a pretty fair reflection of the two sides on the night. Even if I didn’t think the margin would be that wide going into the match, there’s certainly no argument over the dominance of the home side in running in four tries to two.
It’s certainly true that at the start of the year, and even for the first month or two I was still leaning toward the Hurricanes topping the New Zealand conference. But you might recall at the time that this was more around a belief that they’d let an opportunity slip last year, and that the motivation of a departing coach and captain would be strong.
It wasn’t that the Crusaders had gone backwards. Indeed, by the midpoint of the season it was becoming very clear that they’d become a better side than the one which won a title in Johannesburg the previous season.
The Lions, on the other hand, were looking certain to top the South African conference after the first few rounds.
Buoyed by their superb 2017, the Lions has just picked up where they left off. Johan Ackermann had left for English Premiership side Gloucester, but Swys de Bruin had assumed the clipboard seamlessly, with the Lions playing relentless rugby of their own and already proving that they would remain hard to beat at Ellis Park.
A large part of that successful transition stemmed from the fact that much of the squad was still intact, with the 2016 loss in Wellington and especially the home final loss in 2017 driving them toward going one better in 2018.
Their set piece was strong, Malcolm Marx and Kwagga Smith had pushed their breakdown game to new levels again, and when they lobbed in Sydney midway through the season, they put the Waratahs through a clinic.
The Lions’ Kwagga Smith (CHRISTIAAN KOTZE/AFP/Getty Images)
It was very clear that a top two finish was likely, and if they could secure home finals along the way, they were going to take some beating. Maybe the pain of two lost finals was about to bear the fruit the Lions desired.
They did secure a top two finish, but it wasn’t without a few wobbles along the way. Either side of the June break they suddenly looked surprisingly vulnerable, but a strong statement win over the Bulls in the final round locked them into the position they felt destined for as far back as March.
Come Saturday night, their much-vaunted and mostly deadly lineout drive lost its bite in the face of a Crusaders’ maul defence that simply rolled the sleeves up further with every repeat attempt. When that failed and they opted instead for scrums, they never capitalised on the semblance of superiority they carried at times.
And that was mostly because Elton Jantjies had exactly the sort of game that provides yet more ammunition for those of the belief that he consistently doesn’t stand up in tough times. When he’s on, Jantjies goes to the line and has a really clever offload game; in the Final, he carried five times for four metres and offloaded just once.
Jantjies shovelled the ball on 25 times for the match, yet five of the starting forwards and both centres didn’t crack ten metres for the game. And remember, the Lions enjoyed the majority of possession for the match.
Yes, they were well beaten, and yes, the Crusaders were at their dominant, unflinching best without even the slightest hint of compromise.
But the worry for me is that I don’t see how the Lions come back from this. And I think this looming retreat of the Lions back to the chasing pack has been coming for twelve months.
When Ackermann headed north last year, taking son Ruan with him wasn’t really going to hurt with the Lions with a pretty solid backrow unit still in place. Even the loss of hooker Akker van der Merwe to the Sharks was hardly going to sting when Malcolm Marx was already established as a fast-rising player of world class.
Malcolm Marx of the Lions (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
With the exception of Faf de Klerk – and I still can’t believe Ross Cronje is now a Springbok – none of the Lions’ losses going into the 2018 season were major. They still had plenty of quality to mount another finals tilt.
I’m not sure that will be true in 2019. Coach Ackermann lured cult backrow hero Jaco Kriel to the cherry-and-whites in April, with prop Ruan Dreyer and lock Franco Mostert following in May. Prop Jacques van Rooyen could yet join them. Hulking centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg will join the livewire de Klerk at Sale.
Maybe the concern shouldn’t be that the Lions will leave Super Rugby and head north; perhaps the bigger danger is that a reunion of ex-Lions already in the north will form a team.
The way I see it, only questions remain heading into 2019. Will the pack be the same set piece monster? Does Jantjies have the mettle to overcome the demons? Will they remain the best side in South Africa?
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Three lost finals in successive years is perhaps the worst measure of success going around, though the Lions’ pride in reaching the decider every year for the past three has always been evident. Even admirable.
But you do have to wonder if they can start the 2019 season in the same position of strength, given the impact of the key players departing. The Lions looked ominous in 2018 for the same reason the Crusaders looked ominous in 2018: they both looked very similar to how they finished the 2017 season.
That will still be the case for the Crusaders in 2019, but it’s doubtful for the Lions. And so, for 2018 to not feel like the end of the era, the Lions need to look no further for a blueprint to success than the way the Crusaders were able to rejuvenate after losing their big names and key players a few seasons ago.
The quicker the Lions can resume the appearance of themselves over the last three seasons, the longer their run at the top can continue.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Loftus yes they are playing a new plan how the coach has gone to the board requesting 90 million Rand to recruit, rumoured to be off, they are recruiting a new CEO and players haven't committed for next season.
Piet
Guest
South African rugby will never recover as long as we lose so many talented players to the Northern hemisphere, NZ loses players as well but not the same amount and quality as South Africa.
Reality Check
Guest
" Thorns Culture " has players jumping ship.
Mediocrity has become SA's mantra Rhino, I don't see it changing anytime soon.
Loftus, most SA team losses were close, the Bulls especially lost many of their matches at the death through silly errors and poor decision making.
Loftus
Guest
Maybe I was the only one to witness the Bulls trying to play a new game plan. 5 or 6 of their games were very close while they never went for posts all game long. They could have made the top 8 easily if they went for poles just 50% more times. They have one of the best kickers in the game as well
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Fionn I disagree completely. The Lions were hammered in the first test. Barrett's erratic goalkicking and botching tries through unforced handling errors kept the Lions in the last two tests. As for selection you have to be kidding. Gatland was widely panned for picking too many Welsh players and a very low Scottish representation. He was also hammered in the press for devaluing the Lions' shirt by selecting three Welsh players as call ups due to location convenience rather than form and ability. This was the same coach that selected Corbisiero, Zebo and Shane Williams as call ups in 2013 and all three came from further afield. Peter O'Mahony went from 1st test captain to out of the match day test squad entirely. Joe Marler and Jack Nowell shouldn't have been within a bull roar's of the Lions squad.
Charging Rhino
Roar Guru
Corne that's the frustrating thing about South African rugby at the moment. All the talent in the world coming through from schoolboy level but it's not being utilised effectively (ie not being coached well enough, skills driven, rugby and gameplay nous focussed, not well drilled enough, not brave enough to show their own flair, not fit enough etc etc etc.... ) Living in Australia now and comparing the two countries from a rugby perspective, the difference couldn't be any more stark. South Africa have got soo many players, soo many structures and levels and schools and clubs and semi pro comps etc etc in comparison to Australia (who obviously have a lot of clubs etc) where most people wouldn't have even known there was the Super Rugby final taking place, let alone name players and would've vaguely heard of Super Rugby. Then New Zealand has a very small pool of players in comparison to SA too, BUT the interest in NZ is huge and every one knows about the game and their teams. When you compare the amount of interest, media and quantity between the three: SA "should" be giving the Australian Super teams and Wallabies a hiding every time they take field, and also should be beating the All Blacks based on sheer volume of players and talent available. But this doesn't happen.... SA is on the back foot time and time again. Why? I always ask myself why?? Comes back to coaching and utilising and teaching the available talent how to play smarter, faster, better.... Not rougher and harder. Similar to England really, all the players but just not able to turn it into world dominance. I admire Australian rugby greatly, more so than before I lived here but in comparison to the other rugby countries around the world they certainly punch above their weight ALL the time. It's fantastic. I just wish that more interest could be garnered in the game here.
Fionn
Guest
I don't agree, Bakkies. The team played good rugby over the series and managed to draw the series. The Lions were well selected and played a smart game plan. You could just as easily say that they would have lost the series was it not for Gatland. It was a pretty obnoxious thing for SOB to say, and I think he was rightly criticised in the media for it.
Fionn
Guest
Sad about JMA as I think he, like Dargaville, is a good player. Australia just has a lot of outside backs.
Ralph
Roar Guru
Thanks for the reply.
Ralph
Roar Guru
I agree about Mostert, I think he has an excellent work ethic.
Baylion
Roar Rookie
Not really. The Lions were still 4th on log points, ahead of the Clan, and would still have had a home quarter final against the Highlanders
Bakkies
Roar Guru
With a 9-7 record the conference system got them in to the quarters full stop.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Throw in Mostert Brett. He is absolutely key to their set piece and mauling game. He also has worked hard on his ball skills. I always found Faf de Klerk erratic at the Lions he would often put his team under the pump through daft kicks deep in his own half. In the 2016 semi the Lions were destroying the Crusaders however he kept the opposition in the game through rubbish kicks which they punished on the counter. Sale seemed to have got that out of his game.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Sef Fa'agase is off to Canterbury. Normally when a players go to the NPC instead of playing NRC it indicates that they are off. Nigel Ah Wong case in point. The Tui rumours are related to the end of next season, however Rodda hasn't put pen to paper. Very difficult to come to terms with players when you don't have a CEO.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
The Lions struggle to get good crowds due to Ellis Park's location and the area's reputation. 'Good Q Melburnian. It seems like Wales under Garland have never matched up well against the SANZAR nations. This is a big issue. Always thought that was a ridiculous comment by SOB. They drew with the All Blacks in a New Zealand home series. Looks like good coaching tonne./ Wales have a good recent record against SA and Argentina. I believe they have won their last four against the Boks. It wasn't really a ridiculous comment by Seán O'Brien. No player is going to say his team is going to lose or draw a series regardless of who they are playing. The Lions were really under cooked going in to the 1st test and Gatland wasn't bothered about losing warm up matches. That's what he was getting at. The Lions were really poor against the Provincial Barbarians and looked under prepared. They came close to losing that match. Due to sponsorship commitments set up by the tour management they didn't spend enough time on the training pitch after landing which was another point he made. Pretty sure they went out and lost their next two games. Having watched the first match sober at breakfast time I agree they looked so incoherent and butchered many chances through basic unforced errors.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
On the up from a very low base Fionn. The SA teams were really poor as a collective this year yet the Brumbies were the only team to win there and that was with down to 14 men. For the Rabble to make the Finals they really have to win in SA as that trip is done well before the end of the season. To leave your play off hopes hanging until the last round is a fallacy.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
It is and Corné Krige has taken them to task. The Stormers' version of Cameron de Clyne responded to Krige by writing him a publicised letter.
Bakkies
Roar Guru
Fionn he is saying he can't make them a better team without quality experienced players around them.