Another week, another, so close, yet so far result for the Lions. Another analysis showing heaps of missed opportunities, coupled with poor decision making. Because let’s be honest, the Lions aren’t nearly as poor as their results show them to be, they just have a knack for knowing exactly when to self-destruct. In 2010 we blamed the coaches, in 2011 enter a new coach, but the nett result stays the same, the Lions are STILL languishing at the bottom of the log. This begs the question: What on earth is wrong in Johannesburg?

In my honest opinion the problem is not nearly as complex as it seems to be, however, the solution will keep both Gary Kasparov and his friend Deep Blue busy for a few turns.

It all hinges on captaincy, the type of game the Lions are looking to play, and the players in charge of following through on that game-plan. At the moment the Lions have Franco van der Merwe, who is one of the few bright lights in the team, however, his captaincy and the amount of respect he commands need to be monitored more closely.

Youthful exuberance is the main detractor, looking across the board, at the whole team, each and every player, you will be hard pressed to find a player that, when a quick line-out, penalty or free-kick presents itself, will stop and think about their next move. Mostly instinct will take over, and they will take the tap or the throw-in, irrespective of where they or the opposition are, and try to create something from nothing, which usually ends in a score of some kind for the opposition. It makes one wonder whether there is a game plan at all?

Usually in these situations, a good captain will grab the reigns, and force his underlings into submission, much like Matfield did when he booted the ball into touch after full-time. His charges weren’t happy with it, you could see the look of disbelief on Francois Hougaardt’s face, but Matfield did what had to be done. He took charge, and the Bulls won the game, instead of drawing it if maybe some happy-go-lucky centre accidentally knocks or passes an intercept in a moment of madness.

Franco van der Merwe, his age aside, is unfortunately not such a player, he’d take the quick tap himself, because that is what Lions rugby has become, 80 minutes of madness. When a ball is kicked into your 22, you don’t run it out, you kick it, you try to play in the oppositions halve, except if you are 50 points ahead, or 7 points down, 30 seconds from time. The decision making is awful, because the self-discipline is non-existent, someone should maybe make the point to the Lions players that losing rugby is never exciting, no matter how many passes have changed hands, or how many line-breaks have been executed.

They say, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”, without a real captain, there is no rod, no direction, and a lot of the foolishness currently taking place. Looking from 1 to 15 I cannot identify one cool-headed person, who could maybe take over as captain, the only player in the squad capable of doing it, is Wicus van Heerden, but then the possibility of another John Smit situation rears its ugly head.

I cannot see the Lions resurrecting their season if the captaincy issue isn’t resolved. But how do you fix it? There is no-one in the squad that stands out. Doppies le Grange is a possibility, but we do not know how he will handle captaincy and how it will affect his game. Butch James might be it, when he returns from his sojourn overseas, but he also, has never been tried and tested.

It may sound ridiculous to get a captain in from the outside, but that is exactly what I would have done had I been in their predicament. I wouldn’t even have to search further than James’ Bath teammate, a certain Mr. Luke Watson. Highly controversial he might be, but few people can doubt his ability and his aptitude for captaincy, he would in no way harm the Lions loose-forwards, as I’d play him at 6, with Whitely and Strauss starting in the run-on 15, Minnie playing from the bench.

The Lions are a better team than they get credit for, and Mitchell is no baboon, if the decision making and on-field maturity comes into place, they’d be terrifically hard to stop.