Mike Greenaway
ULTIMATELY it was not with a bang but a whimper that the Lions surrendered their Challenge Cup campaign with a 27-17 defeat to Benetton on Saturday night.
They did not lose because they had rested 10 first-choice players but because they did not have the game management to put away a home side that at one point in the last quarter was down to 13 men.
Yes, it can be argued that had the likes of Sanele Nohamba and Marius Louw been in Treviso, there might have been more gainful use of the ball but Morne van den Berg and Jordan Hendrikse are rated highly enough to have been called up to the last Springbok alignment camp.
The Lions forwards certainly gave it a shot and won sufficient possession for the backs but that is where it went wrong. That and a second half collapse in discipline gave Benetton territory and points.
Coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted that his team had made too many errors.
“The physical effort was good but, unfortunately, individual errors at crucial times prevented us from capitalising on the numerical advantage,” he said. “We could not look after the ball long enough to get the result.”
Benetton are in sixth place on the United Rugby Championship ladder but made heavy weather of the game because of disciplinary issues of their own. A few minutes into the second half, hooker Giacomo Nicotera was red-carded for a savage clear-out at a ruck that included head contact.
And 13 minutes from the end, former All Black centre Malakai Fekitoa – he played for Tonga at the World Cup – was sin-binned for a high tackle on opposite number Erich Cronje. It looked more like a red card but even so, with two players down for 10 minutes, the Lions should have had the know-how to take advantage.
The Lions started the game superbly and it seemed the players hadn’t got the memo that this fixture was written off because of a focus on finishing in the top eight of the URC.
The Lions scored after just two minutes when hooker Jaco Visagie barged over from a ruck. Argentina prop Thomas Gallo equalised for Benetton with a similar try and former Free State fullback Rhyno Smith kicked a mammoth drop goal to give Benetton a 10-7 lead.
The home team stretched that lead when Fiji winger Onisi Ratave scored. Benetton seemed to be pulling away but a Jordan Hendrikse penalty just before half-time brought his side back to within seven points at 17-10.
The Lions had genuine hope when Nicotera was sent off and Hendrikse knifed his way through the defence to score. His conversion levelled it up at 17-17. But the Lions fell away at a time when they should have turned the screws.
Replacement prop Bautista Bernasconi scored and a penalty was added soon after to seal the deal.
Lions captain Visagie said the effort could not be faulted.
“Our attitude was 100%. We were up for it but tactically we could have been better when they had their cards. There was space out there and we could not get there.”
The Cheetahs, meanwhile, also crashed out of the Challenge Cup but come home with their heads held high after taking Clermont down to the wire in losing 27-22.