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- The Lions fell 23-17 to the Stormers in Newlands on Saturday despite dominating for long stretches.
- The performances of Elton Jantjies and Burger Odendaal were particularly impressive.
- The Lions now have a four straight home game streak at Ellis Park that they must win to have any chance of winning Super Rugby Unlocked.
After Saturday’s Super Rugby Unlocked clash in Newlands on Saturday, Stormers Coach John Dobson noted the performance of Lions flyhalf and Captain Elton Jantjies as magnificent.
However, it was the man outside of Jantjies who was named as the official man of the game despite the Lions losing 23-17 for their second straight loss in the competition.
While Jantjies pulled the strings with a varied attack screen that included skillful counters, up and down, cross kicks and spot distribution, Lions No. 12 Odendaal Burger he was like a warrior on his channel.
With great defense throughout the night, Odendaal was also solely responsible for setting up the Jantjies try in the final stages of the match to give the visitors a nose for a late victory.
Before that, he thought he had bagged a replay-only attempt to reveal that the pass he received from Jaco Kriel had gone ahead.
Now 27, having enjoyed a long season with the Bulls, Odendaal already appears to be settling in at Ellis Park.
“There were a couple of exceptional performances and Burger, in my opinion, definitely deserved the man of the match,” Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said after the contest.
“He put his body on the defensive line for 80 minutes and in attack he had brilliant decision making.
“It’s good to have him with us. He’s the kind of character that we think can take the Lions a long way forward, have him alongside guys like Elton. He’s big for us and he had an exceptional game tonight.”
As good as Odendaal and Jantjies were, the Lions are now in a position where they will surely have to win the remaining four games, all at Ellis Park, to have any chance of being crowned Super Rugby Unlocked champions.
For most of Saturday’s competition, they were the better team, but an inability to turn opportunities into points and a lack of focus when the Stormers ran in two quick attempts is what ultimately cost them.
“I think the first 40 minutes were good for us. We managed to put them under a lot of pressure,” added Van Rooyen.
“There was a try that we scored that was disallowed and we definitely had them under pressure on defense and attack. We knew they would come out fighting in the first 20 minutes after the break.
“There were only one or two moments against that the game cost us.”
While the Lions have certainly shown glimpses of what they can accomplish (their first attempt from deep within their own turf was an impressive endeavor), the nature of the format means there isn’t much time for teams to find a way.
“It’s a sprint, not a marathon,” Van Rooyen said of the competition format.
The Lions are next in action when they take on the Cheetahs in Ellis Park on Saturday.
“We will put this behind us because four games at Ellis Park will be special,” Jantjies said.
