A derby clash of business models

The Sharks’ clash against the Lions on Saturday in the United Rugby Championship (URC) is as much a clash of cultures as it is squaring up of sides who have opposite views of how to achieve success and, perhaps, what that word represents.

The one is happy to conduct business from a well-heeled vantage point; the other content to operate on a shoestring budget.

The Sharks have been shooting for the stars; the Lions, in their ambition and results over the past few years have gone around in much lower orbit.

Yet it is the visiting team to Durban that has occupied the higher ground in this season’s URC.

They have recently maximised their playing resources better than the Sharks, who, to be fair, are still in the early stages of their overhaul. As a microcosm, one only needs to look at the players who have gone in opposite directions on the N3. The Lions have seen Sanele Nohamba and Marius Louw thrive in the rarefied air of the highveld, but the players who have gone in the opposite direction recently have made less of an impact.

Further down the road

As a squad the Lions, it is worth noting, are a little further down the developmental road.