Currie Cup long shot: How the Lions can still sneak into the semi-finals

The Lions can still sneak into the Currie Cup semi-finals, but will need a big bonus point win over the Griffons in their final pool match this coming weekend, while also hoping for a number of other results to go their way to stand any chance.

A loss against the Sharks this past weekend effectively ended their campaign ahead of the final weekend of pool matches, but in actuality only the table topping Durbanites and the Cheetahs have secured their place in the knockout rounds.

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The Pumas in third, followed by the Bulls, Griquas, Western Province and Lions in seventh, are all still in the running for the final two semi-final berths, although for the Lions and Province they will need an improbable number of results going their way to make it in.

Both the Pumas and Bulls are on 36 points, with the Griquas on 35, Province on 32 and Lions on 31, and should any teams finish the pool stage on the same number of points, the first metric for splitting them will be points difference.

Quarterfinal clash

The Pumas face the Griquas in Kimberley this weekend in what is essentially a quarterfinal, with a win for either side enough to secure their place in the knockouts.

The fourth placed Bulls host the Cheetahs at Loftus and they need a win to make sure of their place in the playoffs, while a loss will open the door for other teams to sneak ahead of them.

Province welcome the in-form Sharks to Cape Town and know that their only real chance of making the knockouts is a full house of points, while then relying on the Cheetahs and Pumas to help them out.

For the Lions they need many things to go their way to make it through, first being a big win over the Griffons in Welkom, which would put them level on points with the Bulls and Pumas on the log.

Big win

A big enough win would move them ahead of the Bulls on points difference, but the Pumas are way too far ahead on that metric for the Lions to catch them.

So they would then need the Bulls to lose to the Cheetahs without picking up a point, the Pumas to beat the Griquas without allowing them a point, and for the Sharks to beat Western Province, which would see the Lions qualify for the knockouts.

Despite having a slim chance of making the playoffs, Lions coach Mziwakhe Nkosi admitted after the Sharks game that he believed their campaign was coming to an end.

“As we near the end of our campaign I am grateful to the guys who put their bodies on the line over the past 14 weeks. I am gutted that we didn’t make the playoffs, because for a franchise like us making the playoffs is a prerequisite,” said Nkosi.

“So we are helluva disappointed with the end result of the campaign, but I am grateful for the guys who have put up their hands and given it their all over the season.”