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Courtnall Skosan and Tiaan Swanepoel scored the game’s only attempts to lead the Lions to a stunning 27-12 victory over the Sharks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
This was the perfect opportunity for the Sharks to move to three, potentially four, Vodacom Bulls record points with one game still in hand. Instead, this result moves the Lions to second place in the rankings, ahead of the Sharks and Western Province.
Sharks coach Sean Everitt is likely to demand a sharper performance in the wake of this loss. While the Lions emerged as convincing winners, there were times when they made poor choices and were disappointed in their handling, but the Sharks simply couldn’t capitalize on their hosts’ mistakes and never really got going in this contest.
Having said that, the Lions were worth it for their victory. They had the ascendancy at scrum time and were quite dynamic at breakdown. In contrast to the Sharks who conceded eight penalties in the first half and seven in the second, the Lions also continued to produce an exemplary disciplinary performance.
The game itself failed to turn into a show, with both sides relying on disputable kicks in the first half and territorial kicks in the second. But it was the grinding of the Lions that ultimately set them apart.
Indeed, it took the hosts 15 minutes to open an 8-0 lead, thanks to a penalty and an unconverted try by Courtnall Skosan in the left corner. Until that stage, the Sharks were well outmatched, but Curwin Bosch brought his team back into the competition with two monstrous penalty kicks from within his own half.
The Lions, however, quickly restored their eight-point buffer with fullback Swanepoel and Jantjies knocking down a penalty each.
The Sharks got off to a better start to the second half than the locals and when the Lions conceded an early penalty, Bosch stepped up for his third conversion to make it a five-point game.
But just when it looked like the Sharks were on their way back, the Lions called up their granite scrum to regain momentum.
In the final quarter of the game, the Lions outscored the Sharks 13 points to three, thanks in part to excellent defense on their test line on more than one occasion. For example, when a brilliant tackle by Willem Alberts from five meters forced a fumble for the Lions and from there the Sharks conceded a penalty, allowing the Lions to easily get out of the danger zone.
The Lions ‘dual kickers combined for six more points, before the late magic of center Wandisile Simelane proved to be the final nail in the Sharks’ coffin.
On the back of a dominant scrum, Simelane’s strong run, which included a couple of vicious steps that left Sharks defenders in their wake, was the catalyst to prepare Swanepoel for the attempt to seal the match. Try as they might toward the end, the Sharks simply couldn’t bring down the Lions’ defense and fell in a 15-point loss.
Lions – Attempts: Courtnall Skosan, Tiaan Swanepoel. Conversion: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Jantjies (3), Swanepoel (2).
Sharks – Penalties: Curwin Bosch (4).
Lions – 15 Tiaan Swanepoel, 14 Stean Pienaar, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies (c), 9 Andre Warner, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka / Wilhelm van der Sluys, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Sti Sithole / Dylan Smith.
Subs: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Reinhard Nothnagel, 20 Roelof Smit, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Burger Odendaal, 23 Jamba Ulengo, 24 Carlu Sadie, 25 Manuel Rass.
Sharks – 15 Manie Libbok, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am (c), 12 Marius Louw, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Dylan Richardson, 5 Aston Fortuin, 4 JJ van der Mescht, 3 Michael Ask, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ox Nche.
Subs: 16 Fez Mbatha, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Thembelani Bholi 20 Thembelani Bholi, 21 Phepsi Buthelezi, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Jeremy Ward.
Photo: Lions Rugby / Twitter
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