Lions get stronger 'semi' scent
2008-09-09 11:47
Rob Houwing
Cape Town - The Lions, last year's beaten finalists, are a step closer to this year's Currie Cup semi-finals - even after Western Province's much-trumpeted lifeline in Bloemfontein.
The return of an array of Springboks clearly made a world of difference as ailing Province earned a five-point full house against the Cheetahs on Saturday, prompting several pundits to suggest they were firmly back in the race.
A better interpretation might be: kept their still very slim hopes alive while immovably rooted to fifth place on the table.
It could even be argued that the fourth-placed Lions, in certain senses, widened the gap on Province.
After their respective bonus-point wins at the weekend, the difference in log points remains nine with four games each to play - but the Johannesburg outfit did their "for and against" category a significantly better favour.
By thrashing the sub-standard, basement Falcons 83-14, the Lions rocketed their "points for" credit to a rosy 109. Province, meanwhile, remain in negative equity at minus four; thus an effective difference of 113 between the two teams.
Of course this department doesn't always have a bearing on final log placings, but Province themselves will bitterly recall that only last year it did: they ended level with the fourth-placed Blue Bulls on 39 points, but with a "points for" 71 worse than the Pretoria side which was the deciding factor.
Somehow, then, and with time running out, WP may be required not only to make up that nine-strong log-points gap on the Lions but actually get ahead by another point.
That said, Province are at home this weekend to the very same, fragile Falcons and would be well advised to try to run up a "cricket score" of their own.
But the Lions won't be too cowed either by the visit of Griquas to Coca-Cola Park; last year's pattern is re-emerging, with the five "Test union" provinces getting pretty clear of the three minnows - in 2007 there was a 12-point final log gap between Province in eventual fifth and Griquas in sixth.
And the Lions will back themselves for at least a bonus-point victory over the visitors from Kimberley: they won the corresponding fixture 45-24 last season.
Intriguingly, Province and the Lions have three things in common in their scrap to make the "last four" with a quartet of games left: both must play the Cavaliers away, Griquas at home and finally, of course, each other at Newlands.
Before that showdown, then, Province will have required maximum hauls themselves and fervently pinned their hopes on a serious Lions banana peel somewhere - the likeliest chance of that is when they play the currently top-placed Sharks in Johannesburg.
But as things stand the Lions' boots are the preferable ones to be in, and a strong run-in by them might even propel them to home semi-final status. For WP it is all about back-door entry to the semis themselves.
Here are the remaining fixtures for the present top five sides, in descending order:
Sharks: Cheetahs (h), Falcons (a), Lions (a), Griquas (h)
Bulls: Cavaliers (h), Cheetahs (a), Griquas (a), Falcons (h)
Cheetahs: Sharks (a), Bulls (h), Falcons (a), Cavaliers (h)
Lions: Griquas (h), Cavaliers (a), Sharks (h), WP (a)
WP: Falcons (h), Griquas (h), Cavaliers (a), Lions (h)