With the recent excitement of the announcement of the new DOC by the GLRU now over, the attention now moves to other important steps of rebuilding the Lions to their former glory.

New Lions coach, Dick Muir, now has to assess who he is going to appoint as his assistants. Hans Coetzee is almost a certainty as an assistant coach. This will give the Lions some form of continuity heading into the Super 14 season, with the bulk of the players now familiar with Coetzee’s approach.

It would be wise for the Lions to still try and get Heyneke Meyer involved as the Forwards coach. If he would be willing to play an assistant role to Muir, however, is uncertain. The other question is if Jake White will continue his involvement with the Lions. I believe he will, and Muir’s appointment ahead of Meyer, might have something to do with this. Who-ever the assistant coaches will be, will coach the Lions’ Currie Cup side in Muir’s absence.

The other crucial decision to be made is who is going to be the captain leading the Lions into the new era?

Nothing personal against Cobus Grobelaar – he is a fantastic player and gives his all week in and week out. But whether he is a leader, is the question that needs to be asked. I respect him immensely as a player, but I have doubt in his leadership ability’s. All successful teams have one common denominator, a fantastic and respected leader.

I think it’s time for the Lions to re-assess Grobelaar’s leadership role. In Willem Alberts, you have a player with big heart and huge talent, and might be the answer to the Lions lack of leadership in recent times. He stood in for Groberaal when the latter player was injured, and did a sterling job in his absence. He’ll be a captain that will lead by example. However, rumours are still doing the rounds that he could still be joining the Sharks next season, but the GLRU have been adamant that he is staying with the Johannesburg side.

The other candidate, is recently contracted Jonathan Makuena. He captained the Springbok 7’s squad with great success and was the inspirational leader of semi-final contenders Griquas. His presence and experience brings a different dimension to the side, and one only has to look to the Griquas’ achievements this season, to realise and understand his leadership abilities.

Unfortunately he has the tendency to sometimes be ill-disciplined, but he will improve in this area under the likes of Muir. This is a crucial decision. The Lions need a strong and charismatic leader if they are to compete at the top once again.

One thing is for certain, the GLRU have decided to put their money where their mouths are with the appointment of Muir. He’s mere presence will lead players to want to join the Lions, as what better opportunity will you have to represent the Springboks, than to play for the Springbok assistant coach.

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