The Lions are hopeful that if more of their players can gain Springbok experience, it will help the team continue to grow and improve, after their best ever United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign came to an end last weekend.
It was the first time in five seasons of the competition that the Lions reached the top eight, with the Joburg-based side finishing seventh to qualify for the URC play-offs, but that was as good as it got as they were unceremoniously dumped out in the quarterfinals by defending champs Leinster.
Their impressive run has, however, seen quite a bit of interest on the national front for a number of Lions players, and that could see a few more of them feature for the Springboks in the coming international season.
The Springboks have held two alignment camps ahead of the start of their season later this month, when they take on the Barbarians in Gqeberha, followed by the Nations Championship in July where they will take on England, Scotland and Wales.
Nine Lions players were invited to the two camps, with Morne van den Berg, Ruan Venter, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Haashim Pead, Batho Hlekani and Quan Horn invited to the first, while Francke Horn, Siba Mahashe and Henco van Wyk were added to the invites for the second.
Lions Boks
Van den Berg has already become an established member of the Bok squad over the past couple of seasons, while Ntlabakanye, Venter and Quan Horn have all made their debuts.
But Francke Horn, Van Wyk, Hlekani, Mahashe and Pead all have yet to feature for the national side, and it will be interesting to see if they can make the cut.
Unfortunately for the Lions, Ntlabakanye has received an 18 month doping ban, so will not feature for them or the Boks for the next year and a half, while Venter and Van den Berg suffered serious injuries that have ruled them out until at least the end of the year when they could be included again.
But the other six players all have a chance of being in the mix over the coming campaign, especially for the first game against the Barbarians, as the SA A team will be playing Zimbabwe on the same day, so two squads will be needed for those matches.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said they were happy with the representation in the national setup, and that it would only improve the team going forward, if players continued to get into the Springbok mix.
“Through consistent performances, more players can get there. Two or three seasons ago we only had one or two players in the alignment camp and now we’ve got eight or nine,” said Van Rooyen.
“It’s fantastic for the players and for the union. The experience they bring back makes the whole group stronger. It does create different challenges because you have to manage workloads and opportunities, but those are good problems to have.”