JOHANNESBURG – A Lions side packed with youngsters tried as best as they could, but it was an unconvincing victory against the Eastern Province – despite what the scoreline might read - characterised by a high penalty count and yellow cards at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday.
The less said of the first half, the better, despite the apparent dominance of the Lions. Fractured in the backline, penalty-laden, ill-disciplined, disrupted by injury and punctuated by handling errors, it made for frustrating viewing. Perhaps it was a product of wholesale changes to both sides, but the first 20 minutes was particularly poor.
That the Lions enjoyed any supremacy, was many due to their forwards, who manhandled the Elephants in the set-pieces. How much can be gleamed from that particular area, is questionable however, as the EP found themselves down to 14 men for the majority of the match after their lock Arnold Kleyn was red-carded early in the encounter.
Nevertheless, a handful of players made known their intentions. Hooker Dameon Venter, and prop Nathan McBeth were solid in their application, while replacement Luke Rossouw, on for the injured James Molletze, took on the gainline with glee. Prince Nkabinde had few opportunities but rumbled with ball in hand when he did have possession, while wing partner Ngia Selengbe finished strongly.
The Lions backline needs a lot of work, but again passing judgement on the unit would be grossly unfair duwe to their lack of game time.
To the credit of the EP, they never submitted, and continued to work hard throughout the game, no doubt much to the delight of coach Peter de Villiers. Had they remained card-free – they received a handful of yellow cards in addition to Kleyn’s sending off – they could have been more of a threat were simply over-powered by a much more structured Lions forwards pack.
The final 10 minutes belonged all to the Lions as their superior pace snuffed out any resistance, creating the illusion of a comfortable victory.
SCORE
EP Elephants (12) 24 – Tries: Hollis, April, Stevens, Winnaar; Conversion: Aspeling (2)
Lions (21) 52 – Tries: Penalty Try (2), Venter, L Rossouw, McBeth, Sangweni, Nthlabakanye, Selengbe; Conversion: Swanepoel (3), Hendrikse (3)
IOL Sport