Third Super Rugby final in as many years.
The question is; will the Lions finally break their drought against New Zealand teams in the decider?
The answer is quite simple; not unless they get the help from all the top coaches in South Africa.
I’ve spoken about South Africa’s difficulty playing overseas before, so this column is not about that.
Instead, it’s about the brains trust in SA and how they need to come up with a plan to break the best team in the competition.
I reckon this Crusaders side is so good that they will give the All Blacks a run for their money – that’s if you break out all the Crusaders players and play them against their countrymen.
So leaving this massive job in the hands of Lions coach Swys de Bruin alone is a bit too much.
And I do think this is where all the Super Rugby coaches – yes, John Mitchell, Robbie Fleck and Robert du Preez – have to come together, along with the national coach Rassie Erasmus to discuss possible ways to get the better the Saders in New Zealand.
If they can complete mission impossible, it will be great for South African rugby.
Heading into the Rugby Championship, a win in New Zealand against the Kiwis’ top team will be a big boost for the Springboks.
Remember, the national team has only played one match away from home; that defeat to Wales in the USA.
So if they want to kick off the Rassie era with a bang in the southern hemisphere competition, I believe it starts this weekend.
As far as the Springbok squad is concerned, I found it really interesting that Erasmus is taking a closer look at Damian Willemse, but Curwin Bosch is not at his camp.
The red lights should begin to flicker now already. A few years ago, Bosch was the next big thing. He was the Willemse of today.
I warned back then that over-hyping the player and pushing him can have a big negative impact on his career.
It has happened to a number of flyhalves in the past like Derick Hougaard and Johan Goosen.
Now Willemse got injured at the U20 Rugby Championship and couldn’t help the team win gold.
He also had an up-and-down season for the Stormers at Super Rugby level, so won’t it be best for him to play a season of Currie Cup rugby first? I think so.
The message from the Stormers camp this year was that they will look after Willemse.
We know he has the talent to win World Cups with South Africa. But not next year.
So while the Lions need some help from SA's Super Rugby coaches, Erasmus will do well to get the feeling of the Stormers mentors when it comes to Willemse.
Personally, I would wait to unleash him on the international front. I mean, just look at what happened to Bosch.