WilladieLeeu’s article on Wetalkrugby.
I remember the day it was announced that the Golden Lions and the Freestate Cheetahs would merge and play together as the Cats in the Super 12.
I turned to my brother and said that it was the biggest mistake the GLRU could ever make. Looking back to that day I was justified in saying that. The first season they played together as the Cats was 1998.
Prior to 1998, Transvaal dominated the Currie Cup and still went on to win the competition in 1999 against Natal. But from there on, it has been downhill all the way. Transvaal also had a good record in Superrugby prior to merging with the Cheetahs and I still cannot understand the reasoning why these two very different unions decided to merge.
This had some serious effects on the Lions and Cheetahs that most don’t realise and both unions are still struggling to find their feet due to this.
The Lions lost their identity. We were only known as the Lions in the Currie Cup, and unfortunately, this name, was not marketable anymore. This also caused the Lions to lose a huge percentage of their supporter’s base. They wanted to be associated with one team and one union. Not a side that had to play home games between Ellispark and Bloem and Kimberley.
I knew a couple of players that played for the Lions back then, and what this caused was a mass departure of players due to the fact that with the Lions, they were maybe second or third in the pecking order and was close to Superrugby exposure. Unfortunately when merging with the Cheetahs, they suddenly found themselves out of the side and lost the opportunity to play against the best in the world.
They moved to different unions where they were back in contention and in the match day 22. This depleted the depth of the Lions and the Cheetahs separately, and is still felt today.
Merging these sides was not only destined for failure for the Cats, but for the Lions and Cheetahs individually. It had an effect on management, coaches, players and supporters. It is also no coincidence that these are the two side that struggle the most with depth, and since separating have been struggling to hold on to quality players.
It also had a huge impact on finances. Instead of having all the matches at one venue and making money from the tickets sold, it had to be shared between the unions. Thus making the profit margins that much smaller. Same with sponsorships.
The Cats did make the semi’s in 2000 and 2001. But that was the pinnacle of their success. The day the decision was made to merge, was the day the Lions ended their domination. I believe that the Lions need to re-establish their identity, and as Jake White said, they need to find a style of play that suits them. It is going to take time, the dumps the Lions currently find themselves in, did not happen overnight, and fixing it, will take time. They need to create an environment where the players feel that they are being looked after, and that moving to the Lions will keep them in contention to be selected for the green and gold.
Success breeds success. Unfortunately it also goes the opposite way. The Lions need to start getting results – at any cost. This is the only way for the Lions to get over the hangover that once was the Cats.
Dit was gedoem van die begin af. Dis soos om die Spears en die Reds saam te gooi en te verwag dat hulle n goeie span sal maak.
Dis ook na Kitch se tyd toe al die oud Ntvl spelers by Tvl klaargemaak het.
As jy 15 kak spelers het en jy voeg nog 15 kakkes by het jy net 30 kak spelers en nogsteeds geen goeies…
Very insightful argument for the demise of a once mighty union. You’ve identified the problem, what do you suggest for the solution?
If I had Kevin De Klerk’s position, I would do the following:
1) Hire an internationally recognised coach, ie Heynecke Meyer, Eddie Jones etc
2) Buy a lock or 2, find a decent flyhalf that can mentor some of the younger guns looking for a step up.
3)Ditto for 12, or allow one of the current crop to develop in this position. We need a playmaker here to take pressure off no 10.
4) Put Earl Rose on the market.
That should give the senior team some structure and allow them to win against the minnows comfortably and be competetive against the bigger Unions.
But that won’t really help for the future, so I would start looking at my talent pool. We have some great rugby schools, Monnas, Jeppe, Athlone, Florida to name a few. I would start recruiting the under 16’s, get them into some sort of scholarship that will tie them to the union for a few years, and have scouts at the Craven week, to sign up some promising youngsters from across the country so that we start building depth.
I would also look at starting some clubs in the townships, that will draw talent from the surrounding areas, even to extent of starting a sub league in these areas to develop the players, and see how we can accomodate some of the more promising players through these structures.
Maybe I am missing something here, but that is what I would look at doing.
@Stan –
Snaaks dat daai 15 kak spelers die CC in 99 gewen het.
@WilladieLeeu – Alles ander spanne is kak in Stan se oë. Vat hom maar met ‘n knippie sout. Niemand lees sy comments inelkgeval nie. N TVL het ontstaan uit die Leeus uit in 1938. Hulle sal altyd soos ons klein sissie wees.
Eishhhhhhhh…. ek weet darem nie…. dis ‘n fooooking laaaaaang verskoningkie die…
Bulls was ook maar woes en kak in die 2000’s… en daar was geen samesmelting nie.
Netso is ELKE NZ Super 14 Franchise ook maar ‘n samesmelting… en hulle is suksesvol.
Lions se fout was tweeledig, in my opinie….
1) Uiters swak bestuur… van heelbo, dwarsdeur.
2) Swak geleë Stadium in die middel van die gopse van Sodom & Gemorra… nou bekend as “Little Lagos”
Kom ons kyk krities na Nr 1
In die dae van Louis Luyt was daar nou wel baie outokratiese en diktatoriale bestuur, maar daar was behoolike “Command & Control” of anders gestel, behoorlike afwending van gesag. Eenvoudige en standvastige strukture was in plek.
In die Bulle se geval het beter bestuur en die daarstelling van strukture geleidelik die probleme ondervang.
Kom ons kyk krities na Nr 2
Finansieel is die area waar Ellispark homself bevind die Lions se doodsteek. Die Lions het van die swakste bywoningsyfers van alle Unies, klein Unies ingesluit, want niemand wil gopse toe gaan nie.
Swak bywoning breek die samehorigheidsgevoel af en ondersteuners soek groener weivelde, waar familie en trots die sleutelwoorde is.
As mens nie geld het nie, het jy nie veel om spelers te lok of bly behou nie… dan verswak die span maar….
Gaan kyk na die Cheetahs se eie situasie, dan sal mens moet saamstem dat finansiële vermoë ook maar hulle grootste struikelblok is, gooi so knertsie snaakse bestuur in die pot… en jy kry wat Vrystaat het.
Belowende jonges in die Lions en Cheetahs voederareas gaan speel eerder waar moonlikhede en geld beter gaan wees, so maklik soos dit !
Voeg hierby die swak betuur in die Kaap in die laaste dekade… en daar sit ons met die Stormers en WP se lang gesukkel. Minstens het hulle nou planne en het wakker geword met betrekking tot Akademies en diesmeer. Wat hulle egter sal bly kortwiek is die “Quick Fix” metode wat hulle nou volg deur elke Jan Rap en sy maat te koop in plaas van om deur behoorlike strukture en vroeë talent-identifikasie genoeg spelers deur te bring.
@grootblousmile – Hello GBS. Jy maak ‘n paar goeie punte, maar ek dink die artikel is spot on. Jy vat nie ‘n span wat goed doen in die Currie Beker en gooi hulle saam ‘n minder goeie span nie. Dit breek mens af. Ellis Park is OK. Nogsteeds volgens my die beste stadium in SA rugby.
Boys….wassup? 🙂
Nothing is up…..Mmmm all working….OK laters 😆
@grootblousmile –
Ellispark is nie so bad nie. Ek gan gereeld, en dis nie so sleg soos die mense uitmaak nie. Parkering het baie verbeter.
2006 toe die Leeus daai 8 games in n ry gewen het, was daar gemiddeld 30 000 – 40 000 mense by die park elke week. Niemand wil gan kyk hoe ons tien teen een gan verloor nie.
En met die tyd toe die Cats gevorm is, was Ellispark great. Dit was veilig.
Alles het agteruit gegan toe die Cats gevorm is. Diepte, bestuur, geld, ondersteuners. Die Bulle was swak, maar almal het dieselfde goal gehad, om die Bulle beter te maak. Toe die Cheetahs en Leeus saam was, wou die Leeus alles hulle manier gehad het en dieselfde met die Cheetahs.
NZ se streekspanne is soos die Bulle en Boland, nie die Chiefs en die Hurricanes saam nie.
I agree Ed, Ellis Park is a great stadium. Yes, its on the outskirts of a unsavoury area, but the precinct in itslelf is not bad. And the work that is being done around Ellis Park is not too shabby either, and the urban renewal that is taking place around there is making it a safer place to be. One cannot just decide to move your home ground, as this will take a huge amount of money.
And where would you move the home ground to? Soccer City? Same problem as Ellis Park.
Wanderers? Conflict with cricket, and the residents won’t like all the traffic associated with rugby, so GBS Ellis Park is where the Lions will be for the forseeable future.
@Lion4ever – I went to all the games at EP when I still lived in SA. Never had problems.
People will watch if the Lions win. That is the bottom line.
I hear what you say… but to simplify by saying the Cats merger was the only cause is short-sighted.
The worst mistake the Lions EVER made was not allowing Louis Luyt to build a Stadium in Midrand..
Do you remember that ?
Has the Lions instituted an Academy of sorts?
A BIG positive was Kevin de Klerk’s election recently.
@grootblousmile –
Dis nie wat ek se nie, daar is baie ander redes hoekom die Leeus is waar hulle nou is. Ons bestuur is useless.
Maar die merge het n groot bydrae gehad tot die probleme. Moes NOOIT OOIT gebeur het nie. Wonder wat sou gebeur het as die Sharks en die WP gemerge het?
Almal hier maak goeie punte. Op die einde van die dag gaan dit nie om die probleem uit te wys nie, dit gaan oor om die probleem op te los. Ek dink hulle moet van Manie ontslae raak en Kevin moet die show alleen hardloop.
13@WilladieLeeu – Ja, dis maar ‘n tameletjie van ‘n hoop faktore wat veroorsaak het dat die Leeus is waar hulle is.
Moenie my verkeerd verstaan nie, jy maak goeie argumente uit oor die merge-faktor, maar in die hoofberig kom dit so voor dat dit die ENIGSTE rede of dalk die KRUX van die oorsake is… daarmee verskil ek…
14@Ed_the_Lion – Diktatoriale bestuur is dalk ook nie die antwoord nie… daar is nie diktatorskappe by die Bulls of die Sharks nie…
16@grootblousmile – 100%. Daai wat Jack Sparrow gesê het, laat my baie dink.
@grootblousmile –
Eintlik wat ek se in die ding is dat ek die blaam le voor die bestuur van die GLRU, hulle moes dit nooit toegelaat het nie – geen ander groot unie sou dit toegelaat het nie.
17@Ed_the_Lion – Die probleem binne Unies self is die onderlinge bandjies-vir-boeties en interne politiekery asook die najaag van posisies deur individue.
Die onlangse Paleisrevolusie in die Lions het dinge miskien nie vêr genoeg geneem nie… wat maak sekere mense nog daar… die besem moes heelwat harder skoongevee het.
Myns-insiens was dit nie nodig om Jake White hope geld te betaal om te ontleed wat verkeerd is nie, hel ons almal weet dat van Junior-vlak af boontoe (insluitende die gebrek aan ‘n Akademie) sowel as die swakkelinge van bo af ondertoe in die hele bestuur die kernprobleme is.
Dit behoort 4 dae te vat, 2 dae om na die Bulle se strukture te kyk en 2 dae om na die Sharks se strukture te kyk, dan het mens die handleiding hoe om ‘n Unie reg te bestuur.
I don’t care what these guys do as long as they sort it out, and the Lions return to a 70% + win ratio, which will mean play offs and the possibilty of silverware back in the cupboard
All of the above brings me to something related… and that is the total apathy of supporters…
Supporters all shout and moan and point finger, but ask them to pull finger out the arse and do something… and they disappear.
Let me give you a practical example… a few years ago an Organisation was formed, SARSU, the South African Rugby Supporters Union, of which I was one of the original founders and one of the office bearers. (some of our fellow bloggers here were also office bearers and the leading contributors)…
This Organisation was duly constituted, properly errected…. but supporters gave a flying fark…
SARSU’s stance was that supporters are more than mere consumers of the game of rugby, we are indeed stakeholders in rugby and one of it’s pillars…. yet we found that supporters actually like to be led by the noses by SARU and the Unions, supporters like to stand with hands in pockets, yet do nothing but moan !
A number of us, me included, pulled out of SARSU… and the whole thing fell flat on it’s arse… flop… verby !
There I saw… some people are “Do-ers” and some are “Talkers”… and the Talkers were the empty tins who made the most noise…
@grootblousmile – That’s what I always say to people. You can stand and watch or you can be watched. If you don’t like something, do something about it.
A rugby union is as strong as the might or weakness of its leadership that starts and ends at the top.
Always look at the very top first when you want to identify the problem.
Unfortunately we no longer have strong leaders today as a result of the politically correct world that we live in.
Louis Luyt never tried to win a popularity contest, he simply got the job done and those that didn’t like it didn’t matter.
Kevin de Klerk was a hard man on the rugby field, and hopefully will bring back the kind of strong, don’t care a damn about the klipgooiers, type of leadership that is needed.
@tight head – True tight head. You should do anything to succeed, even if this means pissing off people along the way. You should have a last man standing attitude.
@Ed_the_Lion –
Exactly Ed.
Unfortunately there are very few men with the balls of a Louis Luyt today.
Most of them are just protecting their own arses today by telling everybody want they want to hear, depending on who they are talking to!!
@tight head – Louis Luyt is laughing at them now. Nobody has the balls to stand up and do what is right. It makes me sad. We are losing our big union status. In the mean time the Admin of the GLRU are stuffing their pockets with our money.
@Ed_the_Lion –
Can you imagine having a quiet dop with Louis Luyt at his beach house and listening to what he would have to say about the management of rugby today!!!!
@tight head – I would love to. He has a great business mind, and that is how he approached rugby. Now we sit with people that like rugby but has no management or business skills. I think he will take the GLRU management apart. What a great thought.
Agree with most of the above. To add….this Hans Coetzee as coach business is crap. A proper coach should be appointed as asap. This coach should help identifying the weaknesses in the squat cause the chequebook MUST come out to buy a few senior players in key positions and build the team around them.
@K9-MonsterLeeu – Meester K9. As always I value your opinion. You are correct. Take out the chequebook, get a coach and a few senior players. I would like to maintain the core of the players that is there now though. Thanks is again Sir K9.
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