JOHANNESBURG - The Xeros Lions managed to hang on grimly for a 22-19 victory on Saturday over the Western Province in a show of sheer will and determination.
Here we look back at the encounter to glean insight and knowledge from their crucial victory.
1. Tiaan Swanepoel has a club for a foot
When the fullback stepped up to take a 60m-plus penalty kick, the general consensus was that it was madness. But the Lions knew something that the rest of us didn't: Swanepoel can lace a ball a mile and that is just what he did, striking the ball sweaty to open the scoring for his team. Swanepoel should have arguably walked away with the Man-of-the Match award as apart from his kicking performance, he had a pretty solid game in all areas of the encounter as well.
Afterwards, a quite chuffed Lions coach, Ivan van Roooyen, beamed with pride at the feat.
Said the coach: "We know what Tiaan can do with his boot. I think he kicked about a 70m kick the other day in training .. It was a great decision from Elton (Jantjies) to go there early in the game. We knew distance wise, he had it. So a great decision from Elton and nice BMT from Tiaan."
2. Something is rotten in … err … Cape Town
The Stormers have now only won half of their games this season, and for a team that is packed with World Cup winners and powerful, exciting players, that is just not good enough. They bossed this encounter, but ill-disipline and silly mistakes kept the Lions in the game.
Their lineout work was below par, an excellent Marvin Orie stealing ball in that setpiece at important moments during the game. For sure, as the match progressed, there was a willingness to shift the ball, but as their captain Siya Kolisi pointed out, they had not earned the right, and their maturity was lacking when they did have the ball in hand. They have a ton of work to do to convert their pressure into scoring opportunities, stay calm on attack, and let the ball do the work.
3. There is nothing wrong with the Province scrum
Steven Kitchoff was monstrous for the WP at scrum-time, securing his moniker as the best scrummager in the country and perhaps the world. The WP absolutely dominated the home team in the set-piece for most of the match, and that was to be expected when you considered that next to Kitchoff, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe were also packing down.
If the WP can just convert that supremacy into points, then there will be few teams that can absorb the pressure. And although coach John Dobson was also confounded by some of the calls that went against them at scrum-time, he can be assured that he has a powerful platform to launch from and drive for victory.
4. Defense was the big winner
The Lions and WP only managed to score one try apiece and it was all down to some staunch defending. The WP were especially brutal in their defence, tackling back the Lions and keeping them from breaching the gainline. They also affected a handful of turnovers on their tryline when the Lions were threatening to score.
Equally, the Lions scrambled well, and held their structure to deny a dominant WP pack that was supplying dangerous front-foot ball to their backs and it took two moments of individual brilliance each, the first from speedster Seabelo Senataly who eviscerated the touchline to score the opening try, and then a cheeky tap-and-go from Stean Penaaar to level the score 19-19 for the Lions.
Rise Orie, rise
One department where the WP did not have the upperhand in, was the line-outs and that is mainly thanks to Orie. The Lions lock lifted himself above his opposition on a handful of occasions, snaffling up WP ball to halt the Capetwonians' momentum.
Coupled with his exceptional workrate off the ball, and Orie is becoming the undisputed leader of the pack around which the Lions' forwards can rally and build upon. And although the Lions pack was under the cosh for most of the match, especially at scrum-time, they manned up and never gave up. Orie was part of that insurgency, and if he keeps on his current for, well, oh boy, let's just say he has a shot at facing the British and Irish Lions next year.
5. Both backlines are yet to click
Unpopular opinion here but Damian Willemse is no great shakes at the moment and is far too inconsistent. Sure the WP fullback tried, and never gave up on himself, but there just seems to be a lack of confidence in his play at the moment. We all know he has the X-factor, he just needs to find some belief and an inkling of form to affect it. It is unfair to place all the blame on the WP's back being below par though, as they were all complacent in not taking the opportunities created by their pack.
Likewise, the Lions backs battled hard during the game, but lacked a cutting edge, while the interplay between them and the forwards suffered. Sure, it was due to the nature of the game being forward dominated, and in games that are more open these concerns will probably be moot, but both teams need to get their backline's clicking in the tough encounters to fulfil the need for a complete, 15-man performance.
@FreemanZA
IOL Sport