Lions' play-off hopes comes to cruel end

MATCH REPORT: The Lions’ Challenge Cup play-off hopes came to a cruel end after a 20-20 draw against USAP Perpignan on Saturday.

The result means that Perpignan advance to the Round of 16 on points difference, leaving the Lions out of the play-off picture.

The Lions let a 10-point lead slip, which will have Ivan van Rooyen tear his hair out, as this was the one that got away for the team from Johannesburg.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Lions conceded the first penalty of the match following a breakdown infringement, which saw Antoine Aucagne get the hosts on the board three minutes into the match.

The visitors from Johannesburg opened the try scoring through a rolling maul, which resulted in a penalty try in the 22nd minute and a yellow card to Perpignan’s Ignacio Ruiz.

The momentum stayed with the Lions when they won a penalty moments after the restart, which Chris Smith slotted to extend the lead to seven points two minutes later from 50 metres out.

Perpignan struck back after applying sustained pressure inside the Lions’ 22 before Los Pumas international Joaquín Oviedo broke Richard Kriel’s tackle to go over for the try in the 29th minute, which Aucagne converted to level the scores.

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The second half remained scoreless until the 57th minute when Smith slotted a penalty to bring his side back into the lead by three points.

The Lions came up with a big play to force a maul that led to their scrum feed and ultimately earning the penalty.

They opted for the line-out, which paid off when late replacement PJ Botha barged over through the means of a powerful rolling maul in the 63rd minute, which Smith converted to edge out a 10-point lead.

Perpignan struck back through Freddy Duguivalu, who dotted down in the 68th minute, which stemmed from a handling error by Smith off a high ball that gave the hosts free territory. Aucagne slotted the conversion to bring it back to a three-point game.

Erich Cronje got penalised for obstruction, with Aucagne slotting the penalty to level the match once more.

The Lions won a late penalty as the clock struck red and opted for the line-out instead of kicking at goal for the potential match-winner.

The visitors gave it one final desperate charge at the line, but Perpignan won the breakdown penalty to seal their spot in the Challenge Cup Round of 16.

Scorers:

For USAP:
Tries: Oviedo, Duguivalu
Cons: Aucagne 2
Pens: Aucagne 2

For the Lions:
Tries: Botha, Penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Smith
Pens: Smith 2

Yellow card: Ignacio Ruiz (USAP, 22′- Cynical foul: illegally collapsing a maul)

Teams:

USAP: 15 Theo Forner, 14 Jordan Petaia, 13 Diego Mascarenc, 12 Duncan Paia’aua, 11 Freddy Duguivalu, 10 Antoine Aucagne, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 6 Mahamadou Diaby, 5 Posolo Tuilagi, 4 Bastien Chinarro, 3 Nemo Roelofse, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Giorgi Tetrashvili.
Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Giorgi Beria, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Adrien Warion, 20 Mathieu Tanguy, 21 Matteo le Corvec, 22 James Hall, 23 Hugo Reus

Lions: 15 Richard Kriel, 14 Eduan Keyter, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Henco van Wyk, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Renzo du Plessis, 5 Reinhard Nothnager, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Eddie Davids
Replacements: 16 PJ Botha, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Ruben Schoeman, 20 Darrien Landsberg, 21 Siba Mahashe, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Bronson Mills

Referee: Filippo Russo (Italy)
Assistant referees: Danilo Parisi (Italy) & Luigi Parcianello (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)

Image credit: @USAPOfficiel