Lions show courage after tragedy in defeat to Stade Rochelais

MATCH REPORT: Despite intense grief, the Lions fought bravely against Stade Rochelais, earning a standing ovation from the crowd at the final whistle despite suffering a 14-31 defeat.

The visitors showed remarkable courage in the face of heartbreaking tragedy, honouring the memory of fallen teammate Hyron Andrews with a gutsy performance against Stade Rochelais in their Investec Champions Cup clash in France.

The Lions announced they would retire the No. 5 jersey for the remainder of their Investec Champions Cup campaign in honour of Andrews. As a result, Ruan Delport wore the No. 24 jersey for the match.

It was a gallant and heroic performance by the Lions amidst the terrible sadness that was evident on their faces during the minute of silence.

The Lions made their intentions clear from the outset, charging into the hosts’ 22 within the opening minute.

Henco van Wyk then ran a powerful line and crashed over the try line to open the scoring.

The home team showed their own intent and were looking dangerous with ball in hand and the Lions’ defence was forced to scramble back and make tackle after tackle.

In the same movement, Siba Qoma left the field after making head contact and stayed down. Batho Hlekani replaced him; Qoma never returned.

After a huge Lions scrum, Chris Smith kicked for touch to set up another strong attacking position, but a last pass to Quan Horn was thrown out of his reach and the opportunity went begging.

The hosts took 15 minutes to find their rhythm before pinning the Lions inside their 22 for five minutes, with Tevita Ofaz eventually crossing in the corner.

They then failed to secure the ball from the kickoff and the Lions pounced; however, the visitors were penalised for holding on.

Ten minutes later Stade Rochelais were pounding the rock again, waiting for the cracks to appear.

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But Smith found the safety of the pavilion for a bit of relief. It was temporary. The white waves hit them once more, forcing the Lions to plug all the holes. In this movement, Siba Mahashe got his marching orders for repeated infringements.

The heavy artillery of Stade took over, and it was Oscar Jegou who got the fiver. Hastoy added the extras to take the lead.

The Lions regathered, and they were off and motoring. When Pierre Bourgarit was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, hooker Morne Brandon was helped over the line by his forwards to level the score at 14-14.

It became a game of tit-for-tat as the home side scored two minutes before halftime after the ball was kicked forward and Davit Niniashvili picked up to score.

It was a five-point ball game after the conversion was missed and the teams headed to the changerooms.

The hosts hit back straight from the kick-off, earning a lineout five metres from the Lions’ try line. Former Stormers lock Salmaan Moerat was in action for Stade.

The Lions retaliated and found themselves in a good position back on the other side of the field, attacking from another set phase. Hastoy hoisted the ball downfield twice, but the Lions ran back at them hard.

The Lions started conceding penalty after penalty, which halted their momentum. It offered the hosts all the opportunities to create opportunities.

They managed to maul over for their fourth try; Hastoy curled the conversion, but Stade was ahead 24-14 with 20 minutes to go.

The Lions had the perfect response and almost got over but were held up while their second go at the tryline was fumbled.

Stade Francais came once more, but small mistakes hampered their efforts, and they couldn’t execute their moves. This aided the Lions to gather scraps and play off of it.

And from those scraps, Nico Steyn thought he had scored, but there was a forward pass from Hlekani in the movement.

The hosts hit back and Avakuki Niusalelekitoka got over in the corner to stretch the lead beyond the Lions’ reach with four minutes left on the clock and trailing by 14-31.

As the referee ended the match, the entire stadium stood up and applauded the heroic Lions team for playing under such tragic circumstances.

Man of the Match: This one goes to the Lions.

The scorers:

For Stade Rochelais:
Tries: Ofaz, Jegou, Niniashvili, Latu, Niusalelekitoka
Cons: Hastoy 3

For Lions:
Tries: Van Wyk, Brandon
Cons: Smith 2

Yellow cards: Siba Mahashe (Lions, 28’ – repeated infringements); Pierre Bourgarit (Stade Rochelais, 32’ – deliberate knockdown)

Teams:

Stade Rochelais: 15 Sacha Elissalde, 14 Tevita Ofaz 13 Semi Lagivala, 12 Jules Favre, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Valentin Bouju, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Watisoni Waqanisaravi, 4 Charles Kante Samba, 3 Karl Sorin, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Alexandre Kaddouri
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Louis Penverne, 18 Aleksandre Kuntelia, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Matthias Haddad, 22 Dillyn Leyds, 23 Avakuki Niusalelekitoka

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Richard Kriel, 23 Boeta Chamberlain

Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Johnny Mackenzie (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Scotland)