Lions into top eight as SA shield race heats up

The Lions succeeded in their mission to power their way into the Vodacom United Rugby Championship top eight on Saturday as they overcame two yellow cards to defeat the Hollywoodbets Sharks 34-22 in Johannesburg for an invaluable bonus-point win in their rescheduled round eight clash.

Making the victory even more rewarding, it marked the first of a six-match home stretch, which is expected to boost the Lions’ confidence significantly going into their encounter against the DHL Stormers at Ellis Park next week, while it also allowed them to close the gap between themselves and the Durbanites to only one point in the race for the SA Shield.

This result saw the Lions become the second-placed South African team on the overall log (seventh place on 29 points), with the Stormers in third place (36 points) and the Vodacom Bulls in eighth place (25 points), with a game in hand. The Sharks are in 10th place (24 points) behind the Ospreys, who also currently have 25 points.

The Lions wasted no time to open the scoring, as Chris Smith kicked a penalty in the third minute but the KwaZulu-Natalians hit back hard with a try by Fez Mbatha 11 minutes later and the successful conversion nudged them7-3 ahead.

Smith slotted his second penalty minutes later and after a scoreless rally, Springboks Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Morne van den Berg dotted down within three minutes of one another, after Jaden Hendrikse received a yellow card, which handed the Johannesburg side a handy 20-7 lead.

A yellow card to the Lions’ Bronson Mills for a dangerous tackle on the stroke of half-time paved the way for Siya Masuku to slot a penalty and see the visitors enter the break 20-10 down.

Both teams failed to capitalise on a few golden opportunities to score in the second half but despite being a man short, the Lions’ solid defence and continuous waves of attack placed them in a good position to score their third try as Sibabahle Mahashe went over after sustained pressure close to the tryline three minutes after play resumed. Smith’s successful conversion increased their lead to 27-10 lead, which put them firmly on the front foot.

The harks struck back with a try by Tino Mavesere but this was cancelled out by a five-pointer by Ruan Venter, which secured the Lions’ bonus point in the third quarter.

Both teams ran hard at one another with the final hooter approaching, and unfortunately for the Lions, Franco Marais was sent to the sin-bin, which injected a desperation into the Durbanites’ attack.

Despite being denied a try with 10 minutes left on the clock, they continued to fight until the final whistle with Jurenzo Julius dashing over the chalk for their third try but it wasn’t enough as the visitors left Ellis Park empty handed.

The Vodacom URC returns with a full round next weekend, when the Lions host the Stormers in Johannesburg, while the Sharks travel to Pretoria to take on the Bulls.

Score

Lions 34 (20) – Tries: Asentathi Ntlabakanye, Morne van den Berg, Sibabalwe Mahashe, Ruan Venter. Conversions: Chris Smith (4). Penalties: Smith (2).

Hollywoodbets Sharks 22 (10) – Tries: Fez Mbatha, Tino Mavesere, Jurenzo Julius. Conversions: Siya Masuku, Jordan Hendrikse. Penalty: Masuku.