Not many years of the Cat

It’s a good thing for South African rugby that injuries and player departures have left the Western Force floundering at the bottom of the Super 14 after three matches.

What it means is that for once there is no South African team at the foot of the log. But how long will it last? My money says the Force will pick up momentum sometime and the Lions will drop into the wooden spoon position sooner rather than later.

It is unusual to see the Sharks so low down, and the question of why they are doing so poorly is one pre-occupying the South African rugby public at present. Let’s not forget that the Sharks were comprehensively outplayed in both their warm-up games, so it has been five defeats in a row for John Smit’s team.

But at least the Sharks are one of the South African teams that perform consistently in the Super 14. Consistently well, that is, for the Lions and the Cheetahs have been consistent themselves over the past few years – only in their instance, consistently poor.

The Stormers have also been up and down, but at least in their poor years they tend to end in mid-table rather than in the bottom rungs, and they do tend to do better than most of the other South African teams when on the road.

No, it is the Cheetahs and the Lions that should be of concern to South African rugby, and the question of why they have tended to underperform in the southern hemisphere regional tournament started to bug me when I watched them lose to the Highlanders in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The Highlanders have shocked a few teams at home in recent years, but the local sides should be expecting to beat them when they come to South Africa. Most critics who stick their necks out with predictions on internet sites and newspapers before each weekend’s Super 14 action had the Cheetahs winning that game by at least 10 points.

I never thought it would be that easy just because I have seen them fail too often against overseas teams – home and away. And the fact that they beat the Sharks the previous week only adds to their enigma.

The Cheetahs are more than just competitive against most South African opposition, and it is one of the great mysteries that they have been in so many Currie Cup finals in recent years and yet struggle when it comes to Super 14.

Could it be that the Lions and the Cheetahs are both still recovering from the many years they spent as a composite feline force known as the Cats? Perhaps there is something in that. The Lions were certainly much stronger before that ill-fated amalgamation, and as Transvaal they won the old Super 10 in 1994 and were beaten finalists in 1995.

The Lions did win the Currie Cup in 1999, when the domestic competition was played under-strength in a World Cup year, but they have not really featured since then. At least not in the manner that they did when Jannie Breedt and Francois Pienaar were captaining them, and Harry Viljoen and Kitch Christie coaching them, back in the 1990s.

Former Springbok lock Kevin de Klerk, as the new president of the union, is determined to put it right. I hope he does, for South African rugby needs the Lions to be strong. For now though it looks bleak, and unless the Cheetahs make a quick recovery, it looks bleak for them too. Their lack of big money simply means they aren't able to hold onto the quality players that they produce for long enough for them to follow up a good Currie Cup season with a big one in the Super 14.

It could become a lot bleaker for both if SA Rugby is serious about having the Kings play in the expanded Super 15. There is a good transformation argument for why the Kings should be included, and the size of the crowds that the Cheetahs draw for some of their games kills the argument that they have a bigger guaranteed market than the Kings would.

If the Lions and Cheetahs don’t correct soon, they will not have a leg to stand on if the administrators press for a return to an old formula that did at least see the Cats into the Super semifinals back in 2000. The two teams, as separate identities, look light years from doing that now.