Imports - worth the money?

Watching Sireli Naqlevuki fluff another critical Stormers ball on the line and gift the Sharks a try, it got me thinking about the various imports that South African rugby sides have called on this year and whether or not they have actually added any value.

There are not too many who have made positive contributions this season, and you have to wonder what message sends to young South African players trying to make a break into the big time.

Sireli Naqlevuki - He has had one or two decent games but he is one of those guys who looks good when things are good but when you need a good solid performer you tend to get a very lazy professional.

Andy Goode - SURELY Durban could find a better player than Goode to fill the flyhalf role. It doesn't send a very good message to aspirant flyhalves that you can pay decent money to an average performer.

Todd Cleaver - Actually the American hasn't been too bad a performer for the Lions before he got injured. But in a country which literally breeds world class loose forwards, what does it say about the long-term sustainability of the Lions if they want to find stop-gap players like this for their franchise?

Carlos Spencer - On the field, the New Zealander has been brilliant at times and at others he has overcomplicated an inexperienced Lions setup. Supposedly Spencer is going to be contributing off the field in a coaching role. It's hard to call his appointment / recruiting as a "success" when the side has conceded 530+ points and broken all the wrong records this year.

Not really too many of these "imports" have done much to add value to their franchises.

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Just women, no pride

The Lions rugby team just has no pride. I’m watching the Cheetahs take on the Western Force in Bloem and you can see that they actually want to be there and want to win.

Neither the Cheetahs nor the Force has anything but pride to play for and yet they are going out there to entertain.

The Cheetahs don’t have money and every year they are pillaged by bigger unions taking their players… and yet they are still able to do the basics right, put on a decent performance and if they win today they will at least take 4 wins out of the competition.

The Lions, one of the richest unions around can go (rightly or wrongly) and hire overseas players like Todd Cleaver and Carlos Spencer and Springbok coaches like Dick Muir but can’t buy a win.

I feel sorry for guys like Michael Killian and Cobus Grobelaar who try week in and week out for the Lions and put their bodies and hearts on the line only to see 50 points a match being run up against them.

If there are any Lions fans left in South Africa, maybe they should look at switching allegiances to the Free state guys – at least you get some value for money!

Thumbs up or thumbs down for Spencer?

I heard an interesting thing the other day from one of my mates who is one of the more knowledgable and sensible armchair rugby fans I know.

As he is one of the last six remaining Lions supporters in South Africa I never miss an opportunity to put the boot in and remind him how his team has done and how poorly they have done in the transfer market.

I never miss a chance to remind him how the Stormers unloaded Earl Rose to them and more recently I’ve been pointing out what a kak season Carlos Spencer has been having.

Spencer (in my opinion) has been indifferent and in fact has probably cost the Lions more than he has added. When Burton Francis or even Herkie Kruger has played the Lions seemed to have benefited from their “keep it simple stupid” flyhalf play.

I said Spencer was passed his prime and his tricks are creating havoc for an unsettled backline and it would make far more sense for the ball to simply travel 9-10-12 and off to the wings.

My mate argued that Spencer was still a quality rugby player but was “too advanced” for the Lions team but was still a good acquisition.

So what’s the verdict – Spencer added value or been a costly blunder for the Lions this year?

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Wow!

It has been ages since I posted on this blog but with the Super 14 now getting nearer and some interesting announcements coming out, I've decided to up my contributions again.

I was very impressed with the news out of the Lions camp that it had secured the services of Carlos Spencer for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Spencer is a hard player and probably the right kind of guy that is needed in the Lions setup at the moment.

A young player like Burton Francis needs to be mentored by somebody who has been through a lot of the scraps that Spencer has been through and I think he could have a very positive influence on a Lions side which was just starting to show some fire toward the end of last year.

Roll on Super 14!