Lions coach in Oz sexual assault drama Lions make their Marx, Sharks skinned

THE Lions’ Super Rugby campaign has been thrown into disarray with head coach Swys de Bruin headed back to South Africa for “personal reasons”, while defence coach Joey Mongalo has been convicted and sentenced for sexual assault in Australia.

De Bruin wasn’t at the stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand, yesterday when they beat the Chiefs 23-17.

It was interesting though that the team announced in the week by De Bruin for the match against the Chiefs didn’t include Springbok stars Malcolm Marx or Elton Jantjies in the starting team, but when the team ran out yesterday both men were in the run-on side.

Meanwhile, Mongalo has been convicted and sentenced for indecent assault for an incident that took place in a hotel stairwell with a hotel employee a year ago when the Lions were on tour in Sydney. It happened three days after the Lions had beaten the Waratahs.

The court handed down an undisclosed sentence last week, but Mongalo said he would appeal the conviction. He is also set to face an internal disciplinary hearing with the Lions. Standout player: Freed up of the captaincy with Warren Whiteley back in charge, hooker Malcolm Marx, was able to solely focus on his game again and what a difference he made in this famous win. The Springbok hooker was back to his brilliant best, closely followed by Whiteley, Kwagga Smith, Carlu Sadie and Elton Jantjies, who enjoyed his time, initially, at inside centre. Marx was back to his all-powerful self, leading the charge up front with strong carries, offloads and hitting his jumpers in the lineouts. Statistics don’t lie and Marx was without doubt his team’s best player in Hamilton. He carried the ball on 14 occasions, making 50 metres in the process and beat three close defenders.

He also made eight tackles in a strong Lions defensive effort and found his lineout men 10 times. Marx was a presence throughout the 80 minutes and helped guide rookie props Sadie

pictured, and Sti Sithole, who together ensured the Lions scrum was a dominant force in the contest. The Lions’ first try, by Sadie, from a driving maul, had plenty to do with Marx’s power. He showed in Hamilton he is best left alone, and free of the captaincy, to focus on his game.

Scorers:

Chiefs Tries: Wainui, Laulala, Manu; Conversion: McKenzie Lions Tries: Sadie, Dyantyi; Conversions: Jantjies (2); Penalties: Jantjies (2); Drop-goal: Jantjies The Shark that stood out – Sbu Nkosi The Sharks were inept at Jonsson Kings Park yesterday in losing 21-14 to the Reds, their fourth defeat in six matches at home. There was effort from the players but clumsy execution and collectively there was little cohesion to speak of.

There were individuals that stood out in a losing team effort, notably flank Jacques Vermeulen, who gave his all before getting injured after half time, and youngster Kerron van Vuuren, who put his body on the line at hooker, but probably the best Shark was right wing Sbu Nkosi. He was aggressive with ball in hand and did his best to wriggle through the defence, often making yardage when the path seemed blocked.

The 23-year-old was in his second game back from injury and on this evidence is working his way back to the form that made him a Springbok starter last June. Nkosi is also renowned for his bravery, especially in his willingness to field the high ball and for his tenacity on defence. What the Sharks need is for a number of the other players to follow Nkosi’s example.

Given that they head for Australia on Sunday for a tough three-week tour, it would seem their Super Rugby race for 2019 is just about run.

The Reds were the better team and the manner in which they comfortably took their chances contrasted starkly with how the Sharks butchered clear-cut scoring opportunities. In the first half alone, the Sharks left three tries on the table thanks to final passes going astray or being knocked on. They looked dazed and confused with ball in hand (the catching and passing was dreadful), lacked cohesion and shape on attack and were pathetic in defence.

Scorers:

Sharks: Try: Kerron van Vuuren, Jean-Luc du Preez. Conversions: Rob du Preez, Curwin Bosch

Reds: Tries: Bryce Hegarty, Chris Feuai-Sautia, Tate Mc Dermott. Conversions: Hegarty (2), Hamish Stewart