Lions finally break their duck
MATCH REPORT: The Lions finally recorded their first Currie Cup win of the season with an emphatic 33-10 victory over Western Province at Ellis Park on Saturday.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
The Gauteng side led 20-3 at halftime and managed to score 13 more points in the second half, while their Cape rivals could only managed a converted try after the break.
Tiaan Swanepoel was the Highvelders’ standout player as the pivot scored a try, slotted two conversions and three penalty goals for a personal contribution of 18 points to help steer his side to their first win of the campaign.
The Lions came mighty close to their first win on several previous occasions, but every they were thwarted every time, sometimes very close to the final whistle.
On Saturday, the hosts started like a team on a mission, scoring three tries in quick succession to pin WP on the ropes at 17-3. Morne Brandon (hooker), Stean Pienaar (right wing) and Quan Horn (fullback) all crossed the whitewash while Swanepoel succeeded with one conversion and a penalty goal.
In reply, WP pivot Tim Swiel slotted a penalty goal, although the visitors came close to scoring on several occasions.
After the break, WP grabbed a try back through loose forward and skipper Nama Xaba, who was awarded with the try close to the poles on review by the TMO. Swiel’s conversion narrowed the score to 20-10.
However, spurred on by the smell of that elusive first win, the Gauteng side wrestled back control of the match via two Swanepoel penalty goals as the pivot’s boot increased their lead to 26-10.
And then, seven minutes from full-time, Swanepoel dotted down the bonus-point try as he took advantage of a hesitant WP defence to ran in under the posts.
With the score safe at 33-10 and just minutes remaining before the final whistle, the home side could afford to take their foot off the pedal as they savoured the sweet taste of a first Currie Cup victory after going 10 games without a win.
The result was also a hammer blow to WP’s outside change of sneaking into the playoffs. For that to have happened, the Capetonians had to win their remaining games with a bonus point while hoping results elsewhere went their way. Instead, they suffered their eighth loss in 10 games to slip nine points behind the fifth-placed Pumas (22 points) on the league table.
Man of the match: Sanele Nohamba delivered a great performance while Steyn Pienaar was just as impressive in the backline. Sibusiso Sangweni was solid at the breakdown. However, for his impressive boot – which includes a long-distance penalty – and his try, our nod goes to Lions flyhalf Tiaan Swanepoel.
The scorers:
For Lions:
Tries: Brandon, Pienaar, Horn, Swanepoel
Cons: Swanepoel 2
Pens: Swanepoel 2
For Western Province:
Try: Xaba
Con: Swiel
Pen: Swiel
Yellow card: Ruben Schoeman (Lions, 47 – foul play, not rolling away)
Teams
Lions:15 Quan Horn, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Henco Van Wyk, 12 Matt More, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Tiaan Swanepoel, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanual Tshituka, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 JP Smith.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Botha, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 PJ Steenkamp, 20 Jarod Cairns, 21 Morne Van den Berg, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 James Tedder.
Western Province: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Ebenezer Tshimanga, 10 Timothy Swiel, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Junior Pokomela, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Nama Xaba (captain), 5 Adre Smith, 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Jacques van Zyl, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 HP van Schoor, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Keke Morabe, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 23 Rikus Pretorius.
Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
Assistant Referees: Ashleigh Murray-Pretorius, Local
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen
