Lions' pathway-first model is paying off — but can they hold onto what they build?

While the Sharks, Bulls, and Stormers flex financial muscle in the recruitment market, the Lions have quietly doubled down on a development-first philosophy. U23 and Currie Cup coach Mzwakhe Nkosi spells out the framework: identify schoolboy talent that fits the Lions' game model (not just the most-hyped names), partner with UJ and Wits to keep players studying and playing competitive rugby, and measure success by how many pathway players graduate into the senior squad. Nkosi cites roughly 17 of 23 URC matchday players as homegrown products — SJ Kotze, Francke Horn, Morne van den Berg, and Haashim Pead among them — as proof the model is working.

The piece is essentially a status report on a franchise that consciously chose a different competitive lever to the rest of SA rugby's big four. The tension it doesn't fully resolve is the obvious one: building players from scratch only matters if you can keep them. With the Lions sitting fifth in the URC and their U23 side leading the SA U23 Cup, the system is producing results — but whether Johannesburg can retain that talent against richer rivals is the question hanging over the whole strategy.