Record set for try in Currie Cup

GOLDEN Lions lock Lourens Erasmus scored a try 8½ seconds after kickoff in Johannesburg on Saturday – the fastest in Currie Cup history.

The previous best in the oldest domestic rugby union competition – first staged in 1889 – was nine seconds by Leopards winger Berty Visser in Potchefstroom four years ago.

Erasmus gathered a loose ball from the kickoff at a sun-drenched Ellis Park stadium and shrugged off several tackles to dot down close to the posts.

“It was great to break the record,” Erasmus said after the Lions began their defence of the title by scoring 10 tries in a 68-26 thrashing of the Pumas.

Told by a TV interviewer his score could have been even faster had he not carried the ball towards the posts after crossing the tryline, Erasmus said he had wanted to make the conversion kick easier .

The Lions showed strength in depth by resting the entire starting lineup from the 20-3 Super Rugby final defeat by the Hurricanes in

STANDINGS New Zealand last weekend.

They also played six minutes of the first half without two forwards after hooker Akker van der Merwe and prop Jacques van Rooyen were yellow-carded.

But the Pumas, from Nelspruit, were unable to take advantage and trailed 35-14 at half time after conceding five tries.

Some woeful attempted tackles contributed to the visitors conceding a further five tries during the second half, with their only consolation a bonus point for scoring four tries.

Flyhalf Jaco van der Walt top-scored for the Lions with 17 points from a try and six conversions and giant winger Anthony Volmink crossed for two tries.

The losers’ defensive deficiencies have been exposed just two rounds into the season, with Sharks scoring five tries against them in a 33-10 away win last weekend.

Meanwhile, the Cheetahs scored six tries en route to a 43-20 bonus-point victory over the Blue Bulls in Bloemfontein, which earned them first place on points difference from the Sharks.