Francis must ‘back it up’ for Lions as Bulls, Sharks aim for Currie Cup wins

The Lions pumped former champions the Pumas in the Currie Cup last week, and for those paying attention, the victory set tongues wagging.

It was not so much the 75-21 end result, but rather the content produced by debutant Sam Francis during the victory.

The 21-year-old Lions flyhalf collected 30 points in the rout, impressing with his play.

Whether it was a flash in the pan remains to be seen, but repeat the performance against a combative Griquas at Ellis Park (3pm start) today, and the true value of the former Junior Bok’s temperament and skill will be easier to ascertain.

Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has again selected Francis at pivot for the clash, and yesterday the former SA Schools coach admitted surprise that Francis had fans and pundits so excited.

After all, Nkosi has had a decent look at the 21-year-old for some time.

“It is surprising that Francis is new to people’s lips,” Nkosi said.

“He is a Junior Springbok, who played for them last year. He has played for the (Lions) Under-21s since his arrival here from the Eastern Cape three years ago. He is a guy who has come through our ranks.

“He played nicely (against the Pumas) and he made some good decisions. It helped that he played behind a pack going forward.

“He has to back it up and we have to coach him so that he can do that. If he can keep his head and just churns out a couple of performances, I think he will rise up the ranks. It’s all on him.”

We're at home for this one. See you tomorrow.#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/3WX9e7e0x4

— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) July 18, 2024

The Lions have had a solid start, winning both their opening games away. They are one of three teams that remain undefeated in the tournament, along with Blue Bulls and defending champions Free State Cheetahs, who face each other this afternoon as well.

“It has been a positive start,” Nkosi said with reservations, “but it hasn’t been perfect by any means in terms of performance …

“I am really proud of how the boys have started, but we understand that we have not achieved anything by any stretch of the imagination.”

There could be some important movements in the standings this weekend, with the Bulls and Cheetahs’ unbeaten records on the line at Loftus Versfeld (5pm).

Last weekend, the Bulls overcame the Griffons 52-10, while the Cheetahs dispatched Western Province 37-17.

The experienced Henry Immelman has been brought in at right wing in place of Sergeal Petersen for the Pretoria side.

“The Cheetahs have been on a good run against us for a while now,” said Bulls coach Phiwe Nomlomo yesterday, “but it is not about revenge or anything. It is an opportunity for us to execute what we have been working on.

Sergeal 🤝 Devon#BackTheBulls | #DefendTheHerd pic.twitter.com/r0MTs4T2XQ

— Official Blue Bulls (@BlueBullsRugby) July 18, 2024

“Yes, we take learnings from the past and the game in itself is very important, considering they are one of the unbeaten sides in the competition, so we must look to be on top of our game.”

Closing out the day, the Sharks will look to secure their first win of the tournament when they host what is expected to be a bruised Pumas side tonight (7pm).

The Durbanites have lost both their opening games by narrow margins.

Coach JP Pietersen has made wholesale changes to the team that lost 34-31 to the Griquas in Kimberley last week, due to releasing his Springboks for their clash against Portugal tomorrow.

Yesterday, Pietersen insisted the team were building towards victory.

Said the former Bok wing: “The game against Griquas, we had opportunities to finish off the game that we didn’t take…

Captains ✅ #CarlingCurrieCup #SHAvPUM #CurrieCup pic.twitter.com/tPKFCrDJGq

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) July 18, 2024

“We are working on the balance between playing and game-management. That was a chat this week – how we can control that better when we are in the cycle of not going forward, and how we transfer pressure.”

Match-day three wraps up on Sunday, when the Griffons host WP in Welkom. Both the ‘Purple People Eaters’ and Province will look to register their first victories of the campaign.

Currie Cup Teams

Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard 14 Rabz Maxwane 13 Manuel Rass 12 Reinhardt Jonker 11 Kelly Mpeku 10 Sam Francis 9 Nico Steyn 8 Ruhan Straeuli 7 Sibabalo Qoma 6 Jarod Cairns 5 Ruben Schoeman 4 Raynard Roets 3 RF Schoeman 2 Jaco Visagie (captain) 1 Morgan Naude.

Bench: 16 Morne Brandon 17 SJ Kotze 18 Conrad van Vuuren 19 Luca Ribbens 20 Renzo du Plessis 21 Layton Horn 22 Zander du Plessis 23 Bronson Mills.

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke 14 Marcqiewn Titus 13 Sango Xamlashe 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba 11 Sako Makata 10 Lubabalo Dabela 9 Thomas Bursey 8 Hanru Sirgel (capt) 7 Marco de Witt 6 Carl Els 5 Albert Liebenberg 4 Athenkosi Liebenberg 3 Janu Botha 2 Jancu Uys 1 Leon Lyons.

Bench: 16 Gustav du Rand 17 Eddie Davids 18 Cebo Dlamini 19 Dylan Sjoblom 20 Derik Pretorius 21 Stephan Smit 22 Bobby Alexander 23 Zinedine Robison.

Bulls: 15 Devon Williams 14 Henry Immelman 13 Aphiwe Dyantyi 12 Chris Barend Smit 11 Stravino Jacobs 10 Chris Smith 9 Bernard van der Linde 8 Mpilo Gumede 7 Merwe Olivier 6 Nizaam Carr (captain) 5 Jannes Kirsten 4 Sintu Manjezi 3 Francois Klopper 2 Joe van Zyl 1 Dylan Smith.

Bench: 16 Juann Else 17 Alulutho Tshakweni 18 Khutha Mchunu 19 Abulele Ndabambi 20 Nama Xaba 21 Zak Burger 22 Jaco van der Walt 23 Cornal Hendricks.

Cheetahs: 15 Litha Nkula 14 Cohen Jasper 13 Munier Hartzenberg 12 Ali Mgijima 11 Prince Nkabinde 10 Ethan Wentzel 9 Marko Jansen van Vuren 8 Oupa Mohoje 7 Aidon Davis 6 Jeandrè Rudolph 5 Victor Sekekete (captain) 4 Carl Wegner 3 Hencus van Wyk 2 Marko Janse van Rensburg 1 Schalk Ferreira.

Bench: 16 Vernon Paulo 17 Cameron Dawson 18 Robert Hunt 19 Pieter Jansen van Vuuren 20 Daniel Maartens 21 Neels Volschenk 22 Jandrè Nel 23 Reinhardt Fortuin.

Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Muller du Plessis 12 Alwayno Visagie 11 Eduan Keyter 10 Tiaan Swanepoel 9 Bradley Davids 8 Nick Hatton (captain) 7 Jannes Potgieter 6 Siya Ningiza 5 Reniel Hugo 4 Reinier Viljoen 3 IG Prinsloo 2 Dan Jooste 1 Abraham Reyneke.

Bench: 16 Kerron van Vuuren 17 Dian Bleuler 18 Mawande Mdanda 19 Meno Barnard 20 Matt Romao 21 Tian Meyer 22 Tiaan Fourie 23 Jaco Williams.

Pumas: 15 Stefan Coetzee 14 Darren Adonis 13 De-An Ackermann 12 Clinton Swart 11 Phiko Sabahle 10 Danrich Visagie 9 Ross Braude 8 Kwanda Dimaza 7 Ruwald van der Merwe 6 Ntsika Fisanti 5 Deon Slabbert 4 Jeandre Leonard 3 Sampie Swiegers 2 Eduan Swart 1 Etienne Janeke.

Bench: 16 Darnell Osuagwu 17 Stephan de Jager 18 Dewald Maritz 19 Malembe Mpofu 20 Andre Fouche 21 Godlen Masimla 22 Wian van Niekerk 23 Lundi Msenge.