Lions win but roars are few
Lions (21) 42
Tries: Janse van Rensburg, Coetzee, Dreyer, Schoeman, Reynolds, Erasmus; Conversions: Jantjies (6)
Brumbies (17) 24
Tries: Banks (2), Kuridrani; Conversions: Leali’ifano (3); Penalty: Leali’ifano
THE good news is the Lions ended a three-match losing streak and got back to winning ways at Ellis Park last night.
And, sadly, that’s about where it ends.
Swys de Bruin’s men returned to their home ground fter a disappointing tour of Australasia and, if truth be told, got somewhat lucky to get the W behind their name in the results column.
They were never in charge of a match that delivered little in excitement and quality and had to rely on the Brumbies being reduced to 13 men late on to pull ahead of the men from Canberra, and then seal the deal. That was when lock Rory Arnold had been red-carded for a head high tackle on Elton Jantjies and fellow second row forward Sam Carter had been yellow-carded for an infringement at a ruck.
It allowed the Lions’ supersub Marnus Schoeman to score from a driving maul, from a line-out win, to help his team into a 28-24 lead, and then two later tries killed off the former two-time champions, who
have now lost five matches on the trot.
The result ensured the Lions stayed out in front in the SA Conference, but if De Bruin’s men don’t catch a wake-up soon they’re not going to go very far in the competition when the knockout rounds start.
They were again error-prone, with passes not being accurate, tackles missed and the backs running horribly skew at times. There was also little imagination on attack, and the line-out work was again wobbly – as it’s been for most of the season.
The Lions though did again score a good number of tries, and it could have been more, but for some excellent defence at times by the Brumbies. However, it’ll be of some concern – or maybe it won’t? – that the Lions are so reliant on their line-out drive, which gets them plenty of five-pointers.
Besides Schoeman dotting down in this fashion, Robbie Coetzee and Ruan Dreyer’s tries came thanks to the line-out win and drive. And while the Lions scored through Rohan Janse van Rensburg before 10 minutes were up on the clock, and always stayed in touch of the Brumbies – who themselves scored three tries – the Lions only closed out the game late on when the visitors’ spirit was broken through the carding of two of their players.
Replacement back Shaun Reynolds and lock Lourens Erasmus scored tries in the final six minute to open a big gap on the Brumbies, but it was a far tighter, and closer, match than the result suggests.
Jantjies, in his 100th Super Rugby game, got better as the contest went on and his kicking was top-notch. He slotted all six conversions – a crucial aspect as it kept the scoreboard ticking over. Not much came of the exciting midfield pairing of Janse van Rensburg – who tried hard for the time he was on the field and showed his strength – and Aphiwe Dyantyi, who got few chances to show his attacking ability. Overall, the backs ran too laterally, making little impact.
An interested visitor on the day was former coach Johan Ackermann, on holiday after the end of the European season for him, where he is now in charge of Gloucester.
The Lions will be happy with the points bagged, and the fact they’re back in South Africa, but they have some huge tests ahead of them; none more so than the Stormers, who’ll be desperate for a win this coming weekend after going down to the Sunwolves yesterday
WARATAHS 41 OTAGO HIGHLANDERS 12
The Waratahs held their collective nerve to end nearly two years and 40 matches of New Zealand Super Rugby dominance over Australia with a bonus point victory over the short-handed Highlanders yesterday,, reports Reuters.
The Highlanders were always up against it after winger Tevita Nabura had been sent off in the 19th minute for kicking Cam Clark in the face, and the visitors had to play with 13 men for 10 minutes in the first half.
The Waratahs, who gave up a 29-0 lead to lose last week, initially made heavy work of it but a brace apiece from Taqele Naiyaravoro and Israel Folau along with tries from Lalakai Foketi and Curtis Rona were enough to snap the streak.
No Australian side had beaten New Zealand opposition in Super Rugby since the Waratahs thrashed the Waikato Chiefs 45-25 on May 27, 2016, a miserable run that sparked a crisis of confidence in the game on the western shore of the Tasman Sea.
AUCKLAND CRUSADERS 32
The reigning champions marched back to the top of the standings by building up a big first-half lead before holding off a second-half fightback by the struggling Blues at a raindrenched Eden Park.
George Bridge, Quinten Strange and Matt Todd crossed to help the Crusaders to a 29-12 halftime lead with scrumhalf Bryn Hall adding the fourth try after the break and Richie Mo’unga notching two penalties and three conversions. BLUES 24
HURRICANES 38 REDS 34
The Hurricanes struggled to get their high octane attack going but still had just enough to overcome an obdurate Reds side on Friday, outscoring the visitors five tries to four to notch up their 10th straight Super Rugby victory.