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Fullback Tiaan Swanepoel kicked four penalties for the Lions to clinch a 22-19 last-gasp victory over Western Province at Ellis Park on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
The victory places the Lions above the Free State Cheetahs in fourth place on the Currie Cup table and they are behind Western Province, which earned a losing bonus point, by just one point.
It was a brave, if sometimes professional, comeback from the Lions, who looked like the most threatening team with the ball in hand in what appeared to be tough conditions in Johannesburg. Ivan van Rooyen’s team is back in contention for a playoff spot.
Despite trailing by 10 points on a stage in the second half, the home team were never really out of the competition, with Swanepoel’s big boot keeping them in the game. The 24-year-old Namibian-born was making his first outing in the Currie Cup, but seemed comfortable and confident. Most impressive, of course, was that he scored a pair of long-range penalties in the first half, one of which came from over 60 meters.
Tiaan Swanepoel was magnificent with her great kicks💪🏼
– Breyton Paulse (@BreytonPaulse) December 5, 2020
By contrast, Province struggled to generate some pressure off the set piece, where Steven Kitshoff was dominant against Ruan Dreyer. Their best move in the first half, where they managed to put together six phases, rewarded them with a penalty that converted overhead midfielder Tim Swiel to give them a 9-6 lead at halftime.
Province’s brightest period came in the second half when they began to put more pressure on the ball by taking it through more phases. The visitors delivered a resounding blow when Senatla and Nel effectively combined to send the former on his first campaign attempt.
However, it was Nel who was probably the impressive player, aside from Kitshoff. The 29-year-old was back in his favorite position in the outer center and, in addition to helping the Senatla, went on the defensive, as moments later he won a turnover penalty at his own goal line when the Lions they began to chase the game.
However, a moment of inspiration from Stean Pienaar brought the Lions back level as the wing received a quick penalty touch within Province 22 and broke a couple of tackle attempts before stretching to score.
It’s not pretty? Https://t.co/lqU921kgS2 pic.twitter.com/bQ4ZVN47ri
– Xerox Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) December 5, 2020
Questions will have to be asked about the impact of the province bench, especially as coach John Dobson opted for a six-to-two split between forwards and running backs to ensure they remained in the competition late in the game at height.
As it turned out, the Lions had the WP run in the final 15 minutes and were unlucky enough not to try again, instead winning the game when Swanepoel scored his fourth penalty. It was the second weekend in a row that the province bench has failed to provide the necessary impact and the Cape’s team’s hopes of hosting a semi-final, at least in its current form, are rapidly diminishing.
Lions – Try: Stean Pienaar. Conversions: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Swanepoel (4), Jantjies.
Western Province – Attempts: Seabelo Senatla. Conversion: Tim Swiel. Penalties: Swiel (4).
Lions – 15 Tiaan Swanepoel, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies (c), 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Willem Alberts , 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole.
Subs: January 16-Henning Campher, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 21 Roelof Smit, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Dan Kriel.
Western Province – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Tim Swiel, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Subs (de): 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 David Meihuizen, 20 Marcel Theunissen, 21 Johan du Toit, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Tristan Leyds.
Photo: @ LionsRugbyCo / Twitter
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