Ken Borland

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Gauteng cricket may have been accused in the past of being slow on the transformation front, but they made history on Tuesday by announcing Geoffrey Toyana as the new Highveld Lions head coach, the first black African to take charge of a franchise team.

Although the bold move may be seen as a gamble given that Toyana has never been a head coach at franchise level before, the 38-year-old has been steadily working his way up the coaching ladder and has done his apprenticeship.

He was the assistant coach to previous Lions mentor Dave Nosworthy, who resigned last month, and was the head coach of the Easterns team between 2008 and 2011. Toyana has also been an assistant coach with the SA U19 and Emerging Players teams.

“This is a very important and historic day for the development of cricket in this region. Geoffrey has a wealth of experience and talent, he played at the highest provincial level and he’s the right person to make sure there is a constant flow in the pipeline from amateur to professional cricket. We decided not to advertise the post because we felt we had somebody with the quality and experience to replace Dave Nosworthy in Geoffrey,” Lions CEO Cassim Docrat said at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

A left-handed batsman and part-time offspinner, Toyana played 84 first-class and 71 List A limited-overs games for Transvaal, Gauteng, Easterns and the Titans, between 1995/96 and 2011. He averaged just 24.49 and 18.95 respectively, scoring just one century, but his career was marked by the impression that his talent was never quite set free to blossom.

But you should not judge a coach by his playing record – Graham Ford, John Buchanan, Richard Pybus and Nosworthy himself are proof of that – and Toyana is confident that his own struggles as a cricketer will give him the empathy and understanding to help his charges.

Toyana should perhaps be more wary of the growing level of interference coaches now have to put up with from their boards – which is believed to be the reason Nosworthy resigned – but the Soweto product said his predecessor had taught him well.

“I’m very close to the board and there are no issues between us. But Dave also taught me a lot in terms of how to handle selection and budgets,” Toyana said.

The new coach will also have a hardened right-hand man in bowling coach Gordon Parsons, your typical crusty old county pro who was also the head coach of the Lions between 2005/6 and 2007/8, with Dumisa Makalima (video analyst), Craig Govender (physio) and Jeff Lunsky (trainer) the other support staff.

While the Lions played fantastic, entertaining cricket during their MiWay T20 Challenge run to the final last season, they ultimately fell short in the final, extending the franchise’s trophy-less run to five seasons. Toyana will inherit a squad with some exciting youngsters as well as a handful of experienced veterans, but he knows the lack of trophies will be the first thing he has to remedy.

“We have a good, experienced squad, but for the last five years we have struggled to win trophies. I hope I can turn this around and I’m walking into a structure that is all set up, so I want to create an environment in which the players can grow,” Toyana said.

“But I’m very delighted and humbled by the appointment and I hope I can be an example for other coaches in the townships and show that if you do the work, you can make it.”

Toyana’s appointment has been lauded by the Soweto Cricket Club, where both he and his father, Gus, began their playing days.

“As a club, where Geoffrey has played most of his cricket since his late father, Gus Toyana, led the club as captain and chairman, we are overjoyed at the message this sends to not only our players, but to all previously disadvantaged cricketers in both province and country. Geoffrey has always been a sterling example of a rolemodel throughout his cricket career,” Soweto CC chairman Gordon Templeton said.

“The board of the Lions franchise have illustrated the ability to be visionary in their outlook for the future of cricket not only in the Gauteng province, but also in South Africa. History will reflect that they have taken a cricketing decision to usher in a new era in the sport.”

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-cricket/news/120710/Lions_make_history_in_appointing_Toyana

The ACT Brumbies swarmed to a 34-20 (half-time 17-6) victory over the Gauteng Lions, putting themselves in pole position in the Australian Conference, in their SuperRugby match at Ellis Park on Friday.

Wing Henry Speight, with two tries, was one of the driving forces for the overwhelming victory, along with the strong running of flyhalf Christian Lealiifano and a dominant forward pack.

The Lions, who are under pressure to maintain their SuperRugby status with the South African Rugby Union having guaranteed the Southern Kings promotion next year, produced an abject display and only rallied to score two tries in the final quarter to narrow the losing margin.

“I’m very happy. The way we carried the ball was so precise, we stuck with things and we put them under real pressure in the 22. We had some great stuff going on on the gain-line and things are starting to come together that we’ve been working on,” Brumbies coach Jake White said after the match.

The Brumbies went behind early to a penalty by Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies, but struck back with a 12th-minute try by prop Ruaidhri Murphy, who ploughed over the line from a ruck set up when Speight was stopped just short of the line after bursting down the blindside wing.

The visitors fell behind again, though, as Jantjies kicked another penalty four minutes later, and the Lions held on to the lead until the 22nd minute as Lealiifano and fullback Jesse Mogg missed three kicks between them.

With scrumhalf Nic White feeding them quick ball from the rucks, the Brumbies backs were a constant threat with their direct running and changes in the point of attack and Speight grabbed his first try after White’s long pass to outside centre Andrew Smith had set up a ruck, from which Lealiifano made a half-break to present the wing with an easy touchdown.

Speight was involved again as the Brumbies scored five minutes before half-time, cutting in from his wing and breaking through the porous Lions defence and popping the ball to Smith to dot down.

The lacklustre Lions had defended poorly and kicked wastefully in the first half and started the second half in even worse fashion as they conceded two tries in the first seven minutes.

Lions fullback Andries Coetzee presented wing Joe Tomane with a welcome gift try as he failed to gather a Mogg grubber and flank Michael Hooper, having hassled the Lions all game at the breakdown, then punished them from the kickoff as he burst clear and set up prop Ben Alexander for a powerful finish.

Speight scored again for the Brumbies in the 58th minute after the Lions twice presented them with turnovers in the 22, stretching the lead to an unassailable 34-6.

The situation was made worse for the Lions in the 63rd minute when replacement centre Butch James charged into a ruck with his shoulder and was yellow-carded. But the home team finished the match as the stronger side, with centre Jaco Taute and loosehead prop Caylib Oosthuizen scoring never-say-die tries at the death, both converted by Jantjies.

“It was our worst defensive performance of the season. We weren’t effective in the tackle and they hurt us with their carry and got enough breaches. They kept hold of their ball while we lost ours and they were more effective at the breakdown. I thought Hooper was outstanding, he’s world-class, that boy,” Lions coach John Mitchell said.

But the Brumbies were the stars of the show with imposing eighthman Fotu Auelua also amongst their heroes and named man of the match.

The Lions have now won just one of their eight matches and face a daunting task when they play the pace-setting Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton on May 5.

The Chiefs will have the chance to extend their lead on top of the standings when they host the Wellington Hurricanes on Saturday.

Scorers

Lions – Tries: Jaco Taute, Caylib Oosthuizen. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalties: Elton Jantjies (2).

Brumbies – Tries: Ruaidhri Murphy, Henry Speight (2), Andrew Smith, Joe Tomane, Ben Alexander. Conversions: Jesse Mogg, Christian Lealiifano.