Lions’ rampant win is like gold
THE MOMENTUM SWINGS WERE CRUCIAL
Despite it being a bit of an up-and-down game the Lions were content with their bonus point 40-10 win over the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby clash at Ellis Park on Saturday.
“I don’t think there will ever be a perfect game. What we managed well this time was when the momentum swung (to the Sharks) we managed to get it back on our side,” explained Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen after the match.
“I think after the first 30 minutes we could have got frustrated, because we felt we had the upper hand. But after full time to feel like we stuck through the 80 minutes and kept our composure is obviously a positive for us.”
It was a match that swung both ways, while both teams also had to overcome a 40-minute delay to the start of the second-half due to a heavy storm that brought rain and lightning, which changed conditions drastically from what they had started playing in.
“In that first period after the long break it was a bit of an arm wrestle to see where we could find space or how we could get momentum back,” admitted Van Rooyen.
The Sharks took an early lead in the match through a third minute Siya Masuku penalty, but that proved to be the only time that they led as the Lions hit back with three tries in 15 minutes, to Sanele Nohamba, JC Pretorius and Quan Horn, with two converted by Jordan Hendrikse.
That gave the hosts a 19-3 lead after 22 minutes, only for the Sharks to then enjoy their best spell of the match as they scored through Eduan Keyter and had a try to Aphelele Fassi just before the break chalked off due to a foul in the build-up, to trail 19-10 at half-time.
The visitors continued with their strong play early in the second-half, but the Lions defence held firm.
A 64th minute try to Conraad van Vuuren sparked another try spree as they dotted down three times in 11 minutes, with Erich Cronje and Hanru Sirgel adding their names to the scorers list.
“The bench made a big difference, although it almost bit us going with the 6-2 split (of forwards to backs). But luckily JC (Pretorius, flank who ended the game playing on the wing) is adaptable and happy defending space, which he picked up playing sevens.”