Hendrikse kicks Lions to victory in messy affair

MATCH REPORT: The Lions won a penalty riddled Challenge Cup match over Perpignan by 28-12 with flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse slotting eight kicks to secure the win for his side.

As the saying goes, winning ugly is still winning.

It was not attractive rugby but it was effective. Only one try was scored in the game with the home-side not managing to cross the whitewash while the Lions had to be content with just a single try by wing Rabz Maxwane.

All of Perpignan’s came via fullback Jean-Pascal Barraque.

Hendrikse got the Lions on the scoreboard in the third minute of the game with his first of eight penalty kicks at goal.

A penalty to the home-side followed quickly thereafter and Barraque sent it through straight and accurately to even the score at 3-3.

And then Andries Coetzee, receiving a rolling ball at fullback, spotted space in the back, sent a chip over the top and Maxwane got over in the corner.

But the Lion’s play was riddled with mistakes, losing the ball and not rolling away, which resulted in another successful penalty goal by Barraque, closing the gap to 6-10.

It then became a game of ping-pong as Hendrikse often opted to send the ball downfield and it was sent back in similar fashion, resulting in a slow affair with the bulk of the players languishing in mid-field.

It remained a stop-start affair due to basic errors by both sides, not being accurate in their intent.

Barraque kept the points rolling for Perpignan through more ill-discipline at breakdown time by the Lions, closing the gap to 9-10.

This was quickly followed by a scrum penalty against the home-side, handing Hendrikse an easy kick at goal and thereby taking their lead to 13-9.

Barely two minutes later a penalty went the way of Perpignan, grabbing three more points, keeping in touch with the Lions.

Finally just before halftime, receiving another penalty, this time the Lions opted to kick for touch to get them into the Perpignan 22 as they headed into halftime only leading by 13-12.

But lateral movement did not help their cause as they tried to change angles, but the Lions struggled to get a hole in the defence.

Their efforts were in vain and captain Jaco Visagie, after a penalty went their way, pointed at the goals to end the half-time. The kick was good and the Lions stretched their lead to 16-12.

The second half saw much of the muchness by the Lions, not getting over the advantage line and moving backwards while having possession.

They managed to win another penalty and Hendrikse sent it through the uprights, adding another three points to their tally.

The Lions had most of the possession for long periods of time, but could not make it work for them as passes went astray, often just got flung wildly, causing them to go backwards in attack.

Hendrikse had another shot at goal, opting to take the three points instead of backing his side to go for another try, taking them further ahead by 22-12.

Minutes later Hendrikse added another three points.

Perpignan never managed to advance into the Lion’s half of the field for the majority of the second half, so while the visitor’s attacking efforts were few and far between, their hosts struggled even more to gain any ascendancy.

Visiting the Lion’s 22 in the 70th minute proved unsuccessful as they just conceded yet another penalty. By this time Hendrikse had kicked a total of seven penalty goals.

The Lions were lucky to face opposition that made more mistakes than they did.

They host Newcastle Falcons at Ellis Park next Saturday.

Man of the Match: The award goes to Jordan Hendrikse for the total tally of points he contributed to the Lion’s victory with his boot while his positional play was also good.

Scorers:

For Perpignan:
Pens: Barraque 4

For Lions:
Try: Maxwane
Con: Hendrikse
Pens: Hendrikse 8

Teams:

USAP: 15 Jean-Pascal Barraque, 14 Lucas Dubois, 13 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 12 Freddy Duguivalu, 11 Louis Dupichot, 10 Alexandre Perez, 9 Matteo Rodor, 8 Ewan Bertheau, 7 Alan Brazo, 6 Jaco van Tonder, 5 Shahn Eru, 4 Tristan Labouteley, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Victor Montgaillard, 1 Sacha Lotrian,
Replacements: 16 Vakhtang Jincharadze, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Akato Fakatika, 19 Lucas Bachelier, 20 Valentin Moro, 21 Tom Ecochard, 22 Eddie Sawailau, 23 Boris Goutard

Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Rabz Maxwane, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Zander du Plessis, 11 Boldwin Hansen, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Hanru Sirgel, 7 Ruhan Straeuli, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Raynard Roets, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Ruan Smith, 2 Jaco Visagie (captain), 1 Corne Fourie
Replacements: 16 Morne Brandon, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Izan Esterhuizen, 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Gianni Lombard, 23 Rynhardt Jonker/Sibusiso Sangweni

Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Alex Thomas (Eng), Neil Chivers
TMO: Rowan Kitt