The Lions clinch another big derby victory

MATCH REPORT: The Stormers were well and truly outplayed by a better Lions outfit in Round 12 of the United Rugby Championship with the homeside clinching a 24-10 victory at Ellis Park on Saturday.

It was a good start for the homeside. From the outset, they created space to attack from. Throughout the game, they played in the right area of the field and used the kicking game to their advantage.

They conceded a penalty for not releasing in the tackle, and the Stormers’ Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezul attempted a mammoth field goal from his own 10m. The distance was there, but it just flew wide.

Minutes later, Angelo Davids was chased down metres before the tryline after some sterling interplay between the Lions, started by captain Francke Horn.

The play shifted to the Stormers after a quick throw-in by the Nr.10, and play advanced to the 22 when they won a penalty.

From the scrum, the Stormers’ Evan Roos had a good run, but then captain JD Schickerling lost the ball.

The resulting kick by Chris Smith brought the play back to the middle of the pitch.

Either side was making handling errors like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s hash of an attempt at a drop-goal.

The Lions got the clearance kick, and from the lineout, youngster Sibabalwe Mahashe got over for the first try of the game.

Smith added the extras to take a 7-0 lead after 20 minutes.

And then it was the turn of Henco van Wyk to get on the scoreboard after a box-kick over the defense bounced into space and was hacked through for the big centre to pick up the loose ball and score under the sticks.

Smith nailed the conversion, and the Lions doubled their score to 14.

Excellent defence by the Lions prevented the Stormers from striking back within minutes. The Stormers were playing with an advantage as Wandisile Simelane crashed over butwas held up.

After the touchfinder and the lineout on the 5m, the Stormers were driving forward ferociously, and with a metre to go, Ben-Jason Dixon knocked it on.

From behind their own poles, the Lions attacked, and Van Wyk stormed downfield til lhe was caught on the halfway line.

The Stormers let the ball slip near the endzone and the Lions managed to hoof it downfield and forced the penalty.

The resulting lineout throw was skew and the Stormers were awarded the feed-in and won another scrum penalty.

When the hooter went for halftime, Smith had just missed a shot at a penalty goal, but it was wide and the players left the field with the Lions leading 14-0.

The Stormers flyhalf got his team on the scoreboard with a three-pointer three minutes into the second half.

The Lions responded with interest to get right back on the attack as they shifted the ball out wide to cut back in as Erich Cronjé took a crash ball to get over the line for their third try, converted by Smith.

The error-riddled Stormers were struggling to build phases and get their backline operating smoothly.

At this stage, Hacjivah Dayimani made his return in the Stormers jersey, replacing an uncomfortable-looking Paul de Villiers.

They managed to get a lineout ten meters out, and the maul stormed ahead to cross the whitewash and dot down, but a re-look by the TMI determined there was obstruction and the try was chalked off.

Monument High’s Henco Van Wyk shows quick thinking through some football chaos! ⚽️#BKTURC #URC | #OriginRound #LIOvSTO pic.twitter.com/hjQkQfJhIL

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) February 28, 2026

Minutes later, the Stormers were on the 22 again. They got to within five metres, the ball was spread wide, and the Lions were scrambling.

Evan Roos popped a soft pass to Schickerling, and the captain went over, closing the gap to 10-21.

However, yet another error by the blue and white hoops gave Smith another opportunity to stretch the lead to 24-10.

Heading into the last quarter, the Stormers were wobbling, and the Lions were hyped up.

The Lions’ defence was immense as Andre-Hugo Venter was in for all the money, but the big man was held up over the line.

The homeside was very brave in defence, but then Siba Qoma was sent to the sin-bin for a shoulder to head collision and the Stormers got a 5m scrum.

Venter got caught in the crossfire again as the TMO was called in to take a look at another dangerous tackle by the Lions, resulting in Conrad van Vuuren getting his marching orders for another shoulder-to-head collision in quick succession.
Van Vuuren’s yellow card was upgraded to red, meaning the Lions were finishing the game with 14 players.

Despite the two yellow cards, the Stormers never managed to put the Lons under sustained pressure, while the homeside’s defensive efforts were sterling.

The Lions won the brain game by converting opportunities into points with outstanding defence.

The Stormers were well and truly beaten by a side that was on point on the day.

Man of the Match: Morne van den Berg was excellent behind a strong pack and always kept his backline on the front foot.

Scorers:

For Lions:
Tries: Mahashe, Van Wyk, Cronje
Cons: Smith 3

For Stormers:
Tries: Schickerling
Cons: Feinbergh-Mngomezulu
Pens: Feinbergh-Mngomezulu

Yellow cards: Siba Qoma (for Lions, 67’ for head collision); Conrad van Vuuren (for Lions, 69’ – for head collision)

Teams:

Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Morné van den Berg, 8 Francke Horn (captain), 7 Batho Hlekani, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Darrien Landsberg, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 RF Schoeman, 2 PJ Botha, 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Conrad van Vuuren, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Siba Qoma, 21 Renzo du Plessis, 22 Nico Steyn, 23 Erich Cronjé

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling (captain), 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Vernon Matongo, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Marcel Theunissen, Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Jurie Matthee

Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen & Stephen Geldenhuys
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen