Charging Lions fall short in Dunedin
The Lions came up just short in Dunedin, as Elton Jantjies' conversion hit the post to give the Highlanders a 23-22 victory.
The home side scored all of their points in the first half to take a dominant 23-0 lead into half-time, but the Lions stormed back with four second half tries to take two bonus points from the match.
The Highlanders were clearly tiring in the second half, but got away with it as Jantjies' last-minute conversion attempt hit the post.
The home side gained the early territorial advantage and made the perfect start as the ball was worked out to wing Richard Buckman who got through a few tackles and wriggled over to score in the corner.
The Lions responded with a drop-goal attempt from Marnitz Boshoff, but the flyhalf put it wide and they were forced back into their own half again by a Highlanders side playing with plenty of early intent.
The visitors launched a few promising attacks of their own which saw them visit the Highlanders 22 twice, but they could not find the finishing touch as they coughed the ball up too easily with the opposition under pressure.
The Highlanders were causing havoc at the breakdown for the Lions, and another turnover by Nasi Manu on halfway saw Hayden Parker make it 10-0 with a long-range penalty.
He followed that up soon afterwards with a drop-goal after a knock-on from the Lions had handed the Highlanders advantage, and the visitors found themselves 13-0 down after 25 minutes.
The Lions had the majority of possession, but they battled to penetrate the Highlanders' defence and the home side would extend their lead further when Buckman got his second try just before half-time.
The flying wing chased down a perfectly weighted kick from Phil Burleigh after Aaron Smith had picked up a loose ball and dived on it to score, but the Highlanders were not done there and they squeezed in another try just before the break as replacement Gareth Evans slid over in the corner to give them an imposing 23-0 lead at half-time.
The Lions finally got on the scoreboard at the start of the second half after a series of powerful drives handed them good field position, and it was scrumhalf Faf de Klerk who picked it up from the base of a ruck to dive over for a try which cut the Highlanders' lead to 23-7.
The home side responded by pinning the Lions back in their own half as they looked for the bonus-point try, but the Highlanders were reduced to 14 men when prop Chris King was shown a yellow card for a cheap shot on Warren Whiteley off the ball.
However, the Lions could not take advantage as a number of line-out drives in the 22 fizzled out into nothing, with the depleted Highlanders pack working hard to keep them out.
The Lions eventually got their second try once the Highlanders had all of their players back on the pitch, with Lionel Mapoe gliding over after some slick handling down the left side.
The visitors had their tails up and kept the pressure on against the tiring Highlanders defence, with replacement hooker Armand van der Merwe getting over for their third try after a rehearsed move around the front of an attacking line-out.
That reduced the gap to 23-17 at three tries each, and the Lions had ten minutes to press for an unlikely comeback victory.
They marched into the 22 once more where their driving maul was collapsed by the Highlanders, so they duly launched another which took them inches from the tryline before Warwick Tecklenburg was denied on the line by the TMO.
However, the Lions kep their composure and the ball was flung out to Skosan after the scrum and he made no mistake grounding the ball to claim the bonus point, but Jantjies' conversion hit the pole to break the Lions' hearts.
Man of the match: Lions skipper Warren Whiteley had another good game, as did scrumhalf Faf de Klerk whilst JW Jonker and Warwick Tecklenburg made an impact off the bench. Richard Buckman did well to take his two tries, but our award goes to Hayden Parker for a solid all-round performance at flyhalf.
The scorers:
For the Highlanders:
Tries: Buckman 2, Evans
Con: Parker
Pen: Parker
DG: Parker
For the Lions:
Tries: De Klerk, Mapoe, Van der Merwe, Skosan
Con: Boshoff
Yellow card: Chris King (Highlanders, 53 mins – Foul play)
Teams:
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Richard Buckman, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Jason Emery, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7 John Hardie, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Ma'afu Fia, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Chris King.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Matias Diaz, 18 Kane Hames, 19 Tom Franklin, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Trent Renata, 23 Gareth Evans.
Lions: 15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Rudi Matthee, 20 Warwick Tecklenburg, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 JW Jonker.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Kane McBride (New Zealand)
TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
