Lions summit CC standings with emphatic victory

MATCH REPORT: The Lions leapfrogged to the top of the Currie Cup standings after an emphatic 37-7 victory over Griquas at Ellis Park on Saturday.

After the game was delayed by more than an hour due to lightning, the game finally got underway.

Griquas showed their intent from the get-go as they sent the ball through the hands with quick succession.

The first penalty also went the visitor’s way, and George Whitehead found touch close to the home team’s five metre.

It worked well, and the visitors were on the scoreboard thanks to the strong running flanker Lourens Oosthuizen within the first five minutes.

Whitehead added the extras, and the Peacock Blues were leading 7-0.

The Lions then lost two line-outs in a row, after which a scrum penalty was awarded to Griquas.

A try by Nico Steyn after 12 minutes from a quick throw-in was disallowed, and the home side was still looking for their first points.

They struggled to settle and limit their mistakes, as another ball was lost in contact, not being clinical enough.

An up-and-under by Smith sent Griquas scattering, the ball was spilled backwards, and the Lions earned a five-metre scrum.

A powerful drive by Henco van Wyk saw him pump his legs to get a well-deserved try.

They followed this up with a try to Richard Kriel following another strong run by the big centre Van Wyk, stretching their lead to 12-7.

A centre field scrum set up another attacking opportunity for the Lions, with Van Wyk once more gaining metres for his side, sending the visitors scrambling and resulting in another scrum a couple of metres out.

A tap and go from a free kick saw the Lions launch drive after drive, and being ferocious with ball in hand.

Griquas were testing the patience of the referee Cwengile Jadezweni with repeated infringements. But it was an opportunity lost as Kriel’s hands let him down.

Eventually, the referee lost his patience and sent Mnombo Zwelenedaba to the sin-bin while Smith added three more points to the Lions’ tally.

At halftime, the Lions were leading 15-7.

The visitors came out with intent in the second half with a dominant scrum, but Steyn had other ideas and sniped from a short distance for their third try of the evening, converted by Smith.

With 30 minutes to play, Griquas had a mountain to climb as their high error rate made a comeback difficult.

The Lions set up a comfortable 18-point cushion after Smith sent another penalty kick through the posts. They followed this up with a top-notch finish by the former Blitzbok Angelo Davids, scoring their fourth bonus point try.

Nothing was going the way of the visitors after an hour of action, while the Lions were dishing up an explosive brand of rugby.

Their fifth visit to the tryline came after some scintillating play, after Kriel intercepted, and the ball was quickly sent wide to Quan Horn.

That took the home side to a comfortable 37-7 lead.

By now, exciting youngster Haashim Pead as well as flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela had taken the field for the Lions.

The Lions closed out the game knowing they had summited the Currie Cup log.

Man of the Match: My pick goes to Lions centre Henco van Wyk – the powerful centre is reaching his peak this season. He was devastating on attack, running through defence like a rhino through a dust ball, while his tackles were felt way up in the stands.

Scorers:

For Lions:
Tries: Van Wyk, Kriel, Steyn, Davids, Horn
Cons: Smith 3
Pens: Smith 2

For Griquas:
Tries: Oosthuizen
Cons: Whitehead

Yellow card: Mnombo Zwelenedaba (Griquas, 37’ – repeat infringement)

Teams

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 PJ Botha (captain), 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Haashim Pead, 22 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Rynhardt Jonkeer.

Griquas: 15 Connor Mahoney, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelenedaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Carl Els, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 2 Cebo Dlamini (captain), 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Johan Louw, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Marco de Witt, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, Cameron Hufke.

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni
Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs, Phumzile Mbewu
TMO: Stephan Geldenhuys