Johannesburg - Forget about the seven tries the Lions scored against Racing 92 to secure a 51-28 victory at the weekend.
For a moment, put at the back of your mind the 547 metres they ran, the 28 defenders they beat, the eight clean breaks, or the 52 gainline carries, three turnovers and 109 tackles the Joburgers made.
What was most pleasing was the utter commitment and sheer will of the matchday 23 to work together and deny the visitors, despite the fact that they played with one less man for the majority of the clash.
The long-term result of the red card to Emmanuel Tshituka is still to be decided, but the grit and determination shown by his teammates in his absence, will only reinforce coach Ivan van Rooyen and company’s confidence ahead of their upcoming Challenge Cup quarterfinal against Glasgow Warriors.
It was not all that long ago that such self-belief was sorely lacking within the team.
The Lions, although still a relatively young team, have always had the personnel to achieve great things but at the end of last year and the start of 2023, they lacked that conviction.
Their troubles were compounded by reported off-field issues that hampered their focus on the matters on hand, but a renewed sense of purpose and regenerated collective effort has arguably saved their season from ignominy.
Six consecutive victories across all competitions has also helped galvanise the greater squad.
The likes of Asenathi Ntlabakanye, PJ Botha, Willem Alberts, Ruan Venter, Tshituka,
Sanele Nohamba, Gianni Lombard, Marius Louw, Edwill van der Merwe and Quan Horn are all in a purple patch right now, while there is an upward curve in the form and consistency in JP Smith, Francke Horn, Manuel Rass and Rabz Maxwane’s performance.
The concerns regarding the union’s management will remain, of course, but for now the feel-good vibes of victory have papered over the cracks.
The Lions plan to travel to Glasgow on Tuesday night with Reinhard Nothnagel (cheek) the only real injury concern, while they will have to figure out how they plan to recuperate from an exhausting 14-man effort this past weekend.
Their hosts will have no such worries. They can enjoy home comforts after a congenial 73-33 romp against the Dragons in their last-16 outing, also this past weekend.
Van Rooyen confirmed after the Racing clash that he will select his strongest possible squad to travel to Scotland’s most populous city, and he will do so with a handful of concerns.
All of them, admittedly, are a result of losing Tshituka during the match.
The Lions did not have the expected scrum dominance due to that fact, while their lineouts also lost an option. They slipped 22 tackles and leaked four tries in the process – a statistic that will need to be tightened up.
It might be knockout rugby again this weekend, but one should expect that under coach Franco Smith, the Warriors will not deviate too far from his attacking style of play.
Likewise, the Lions must continue their more expansive game plan that bruises up front to exploit space out wide.
The Lions have faced Glasgow twice in the United Rugby Championship, but this will be the first time in a playoff setting.
Earlier this year, it was the morale-boosting 35-24 victory over Glasgow at Ellis Park which righted the Lions’ ship and set in motion their current run.
Last season, the Lions narrowly lost 13-9 at Scotstoun Stadium under dubious circumstances.
Early predictions would suggest that it could be a higher-scoring encounter this time around. Kick-off for the match is at 9pm on Saturday.
@FreemanZAR