Lions bounce back against Pumas
MATCH REPORT: The Lions returned to winning ways in the Currie Cup after they recorded a 36-35 bonus-point victory over the Pumas at the Nelspruit Rugby Club on Saturday.
Both sides scored five tries in the match, with the Pumas getting the final score well after the full-time hooter sounded to secure an extra bonus point by losing by fewer than seven points.
After the scoreline read 21-all at half-time, the Lions took control of the match by establishing a 15-point lead before the Pumas made it a bit tighter with their two late tries.
The win moved the Lions up to second spot in the standings.
The Pumas were camped inside the Lions’ half in the opening 10 minutes, but their execution let them down at crucial moments.
The home side eventually opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Ruwald van der Merwe took advantage of some sloppy defending to sprint away for a five-pointer.
However, the Lions bounced back almost immediately when wing Kelly Mpeku weaved his way through several defenders to score his team’s first try.
The scores were level for only a few minutes before scrumhalf Ross Braude powered over for the Pumas’ second try after he received the ball from a neat offload by JJ Scheepers.
Momentum was something the Pumas struggled to maintain, and they allowed the Lions to claw their way back in the 22nd minute after some clever passing put Angelo Davids into the corner for a try.
The see-saw nature of the match continued after that, and a pinpoint cross-kick from Sango Xamlashle found Darren Adonis out wide, and the wing scored the Pumas’ third of the match in the 27th minute.
Some more patience on attack with some forward power allowed the Lions to respond again, and this time Renzo du Plessis crashed over for the Lions’ third try.
In the second half, after converting all the tries in the first 40 minutes, Lions flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela put his side in front in the 46th minute with a penalty goal.
Things got even better for the Lions in the 49th minute when Ruben Schoeman put his lock partner Dylan Sjoblom into space to race away for a fantastic try.
Momentum was firmly on the Lions’ side and Du Plessis was on hand again to finish off a well-worked try in the corner in the 60th minute.
The Pumas finally got over the Lions’ tryline in the 73rd minute after replacement hooker Jan-Henning Campher finished off a potent rolling maul.
Pumas’ replacement Tiaan Pretorius scored his team’s fifth try well after the full-time hooter sounded, but it was the Lions who walked away with the five log points in the end.
Man of the match: The award goes to Lions flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela, who directed play excellently for the visitors. He also contributed 11 points with the boot.
The scorers:
For Pumas:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Braude. Adonis, Campher, Pretorius
Cons: Visagie 5
For Lions:
Tries: Mpeku, Davids, Du Plessis 2, Sjoblom
Cons: Dobela 4
Pen: Dobela
Teams:
Pumas: 15 Tino Swanepoel, 14 Stefan Coetzee, 13 Sango Xamlashle, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Danrich Visagie, 9 Ross Braude (vice-captain), 8 Willie Engelbrecht (captain), 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisante, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 JJ Scheepers, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Etienne Janeke
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Zuki Sali, 18 Dewald Maritz, 19 Hanno Theunissen, 20 Andre Fouché, 21 Russwell Fredericks, 22 Tiaan Pretorius, 23 Dalvon Blood
Lions: 15 Gianni Lombard, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Kelly Mpeku, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Johnre Stopforth, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Sam Francis, 23 Tapiwa Mafura
Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen, Paul Mente
TMO: Archie Moko
