JOHANNESBURG – A mighty Lions scrum won the day for the Joburg-based side in their fourth round encounter against the Bulls at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.
Powerful scrummaging displays by Sti Sithole, Jaco Viasgie and Carlu Sadie finally helped the Lions break their duck in the Rainbow Cup South Africa, narrowly defeating the table-topping Bulls 34-33. There can be little doubt now that the Lions front-row is the best in the competition, having outscrummed two Springbok frontrows, last weekend against the Stormers, and now again in this encounter. The Lions’ Vincent Tshituka was adjudged the Man of the Match, but if such a thing was possible, it should have been awarded to the trio up-front, such was their impact on this encounter.
Despite this apparent dominice at the set-piece, the Lions forwards did not have the run of the match, with the Bulls bossing the breakdown by flooding the ruck and affecting crucial turnovers throughout the game. Springbok Duane Vermeulen was particularly impressive in his groundwork, which helped stop any momentum the Lions endeavoured to build. There will be a slight concern regarding the indomitable eightman’s fitness as he left the field in the second half with a slight ankle niggle. Luckily, for all South African sides, they will enjoy a bye this weekend coming up.
Both teams kept it close in the first 20 minutes with the packs rumbling forward to trade tries through the efforts of Ruben Schoeman, and then Eltich Louw. The match opened up a bit more as the half entered its second stanza, and both wings were unleashed as a result. Rabz Maxwane finished off an excellent individual effort, collecting the ball from a chip-kick to dive over the whitewash. Not to be undone, his counterpart Madosh Tambwe then bewildered the Lions’ cover defence moments later to dot down a superb effort for the Pretoria-based side to take the lead 19-17.
The Bulls came out firing in the second half, scoring 14 points in as many minutes through upping the ante in attack. First Smith cantered over, and then Mandosh Tambwe found himself in oodles of space, allowing fullback David Kriel to score his brace in the corner. But the Lions never gave up, and arguably played their best rugby of the season in the final 20 minutes of the encounter.
Their defence was much improved in that period, as was their decision-making and they controlled the play with commitment and intent. It resulted in replacement Fred Zeilinga scoring a crucial try in the final 15 minutes, and then the Joburgers maintaining pressure through territory. Lions captain Burger Odendaal also had an excellent match, especially in attack, which gave his team the front-foot ball they required, and despite their short-comings at the breakdown, the Lions continued to chip away.
Their victory will come as a major relief for Lions coach Ivan Van Rooyen, who has insisted throughout the tournament that the systems and effort to win has never wavered. The Lions might have looked like a team that hadn’t won in a month when the match started, but they can now certainly relish that winning feeling again.
IOL Sport