Lions demolish Glasgow Warriors in Ellis Park masterclass

MATCH REPORT: The Lions stunned log leaders Glasgow Warriors with a dazzling display of attacking flair and ironclad defence, racking up 54 points in a dominant 54-12 victory at Ellis Park on Saturday.

With this victory, the Lions moved up to fourth spot in the standings, sending a strong message that this is the season they are backing themselves as real contenders.

Five minutes into the game the Lions’ big centre Hencu van Wyk crossed for his side’s first try, converted by points scoring machine Chris Smith, taking his tally to 126.

It took them another five minutes to score again, this time winger Erich Cronje after Siba Mahashe offloaded in the tackle and managed to create some space for his captain Francke Horn, who played it inside.

The Lions were in a roaring mood as they forced their way over a third time – Van Wyk grabbing his second – after some soft touches once more by Horn, making it a point a minute to take a 19-0 lead.

Glasgow were persisting with their ball-in-hand approach, not opting to clear with the boot, but it made going tough.

Eventually, they managed to work their way into the red zone but the Lions were in a defiant mood, tackling with ferocious intent.

It paid off, and the visitors grabbed their first five-pointer, courtesy of flyhalf Dan Lancaster who came at pace and sliced through with ease. He converted his own try to edge closer by 7-19.

The Lions’ bonus point crashed just before half-time after possession changed hands a couple of times before Ruan Venter made a solid steal on the ground.

Smith found touch 10m out from goal. From there, Asenathi Ntlabakanye showed some soft skills to send his prop partner, SJ Kotzer, over.

The Lions put the Glasgow Warriors under pressure at the breakdown and dominated this area with a superior display.

As the second half got underway, Glasgow had the Lions under pressure defensively, but the someside made the big tackles and finally got all the way to the 5m, where Ruan Venter scored the perfect try from a line-out. He came around the corner and there was no stopping him as he dotted down.

This took the Lions to a comfortable 33-7 lead with half an hour left on the clock.

Not to be outdone, Glasgow took control of things, playing phase after phase, going coast to coast.

When PJ Botha went off his feet in the ruck contesting for the ball, a penalty in front offered the visitors a scoring opportunity.

From the line-out after the touch finder, Stafford McDowall sliced through without anyone touching him.

Heading into the last 20, it was evident that the Warriors were taking a strain. There were a lot of tired and sore bodies on the pitch, and their body language showed it.

Morne van den Berg scored the try of the game after a sterling run down the sideline by Horn.

Minutes later, Siba Mahashe raced down the same sideline to score yet another stunner as Cronje counter-rucked and Davids picks up and passes inside the flanker.

With 47 points in the bag, the Lions were quickly heading to a half-century.

And they just did that as Quan Horn added his name to the try-scorers list.

Player of the Match: Hencu van Wyk not only scored two spectacular tries, but his role as a hybrid, busying himself in the rucks and mauls, signifies what a strong Bok contender he has become.

The scorers:

For Lions:
Tries: Van Wyk 2, Cronje, Kotze, Venter, Van den Berg, Mahashe, Horn
Cons: Smith 7

For Glasgow:
Tries: Lancaster, McDowall
Cons: Lancaster

Teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Angelo Davids, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Edward Davids, 18 Sebastian Lombard, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 JC Pretorius, 22 Nico Steyn, Kelly Mpeku

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall (captain), 11 Fergus Watson, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 Jack Oliver, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Seb Stephen, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Dylan Cockburn, 20 Ryan Burke, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Sione Tuipulotu

Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby (South Africa), Dylen November (South Africa)
TMO: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)