Courageous Lions edge Edinburgh to end tour unbeaten
URC REPORT: The Lions ended their three-match United Rugby Championship tour unbeaten with a thrilling 22-19 win over Edinburgh on Friday.
After wins over the Ospreys and Cardiff in Wales, Ivan van Rooyen’s side headed to Edinburgh full of confidence and they showed some true grit to edge their hosts.
Both teams scored three tries in the match, but a 75th-minute penalty from Gianni Lombard proved to be the difference in the end.
That was also the first time the Lions took the lead in the game.
It took some time before there were points on the scoreboard in the first half.
After flyhalf Lombard was off target with a penalty attempt and then a drop-goal effort, the stalemate was broken midway through the first half after Blair Kinghorn sent a penalty to touch
Line-out ball was cleanly won and the Edinburgh maul eventually got over the line, with Bill Mata finishing off.
Kinghorn curled his conversion attempt wide, and Lombard then missed another attempt to get the Lions off the mark with a penalty.
The visitors drew level five minutes before the break following their one sustained attack in the first half.
Some powerful carries forced Edinburgh – beaten by the Bulls and the Stormers on their recent tour to South Africa – to funnel in towards the posts, and eventually enough space was created for fullback Andries Coetzee to finish off. Lombard’s conversion came back off a post.
Edinburgh regained the lead 10 minutes into the second half after a move down the line ended with Emiliano Boffelli passing to Darcy Graham.
The wing beat the first man then dived over the line as two more defenders leapt in to try to force him into touch. Boffelli, who had crucially come off his wing to provide the extra man, converted to give Edinburgh a 12-5 lead.
The Lions quickly hit back, however. A move in midfield appeared innocuous enough when Henco van Wyk collected a pass, but when Matt Currie and James Lang both failed to put him down, space opened up in front of him and he raced clear to the line. Lombard’s conversion levelled the scores.
Right on the hour mark, Edinburgh went in front again when Ben Muncaster finished off a line-out maul. Boffelli added the two points again.
There was still a lot of fight left in the Lions, though, and they got their own third try five minutes later when No.8 Francke Horn finished off from close range. Lombard’s conversion drew the Lions level once more.
Seven minutes from time a hack ahead deep into Edinburgh territory ended with Graham being penalised for not releasing – and also limping off injured. Lombard scored to make it 22-19 to the Lions, and that was enough.
Player of the Match
Francke Horn beat more defenders (5) than anyone else in a Lions jersey and also popped up with their crucial third try, contributing to a performance that earned him the individual prize.
Play of the match
Edinburgh wing Graham had a lot to do when he collected a pass from Boffelli inside the Lions’ 22, but he did it with consummate skill.
Standing up the closest defender then wrong-footing him on the outside, Graham then dived over the line, touching down as two more Lions players leapt in a vain attempt to prevent the score.
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Mata, Graham, Muncaster
Cons: Boffelli 2
For Lions:
Tries: Coetzee, Van Wyk, F Horn
Cons: Lombard 2
Pen: Lombard
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Glen Young, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 WP Nel, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Chris Dean.
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Quan Horn, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Sibusiso Sangweni, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel (captain), 4 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Jean-Pierre Smith, 18 Ruan Smith, 19 Emmanuel Tshituka, 20 Ruhan Straeuli, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Jordan Hendrikse, 23 Zander du Plessis.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Ru Campbell (Scotland); Jonny Perriam (Scotland)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Additional source: @URCOfficial
