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First-half blitz sends Lions sailing into knockouts

rugby18 January 2025 17:18| © SuperSport
By:Gavin Rich
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A rampaging first half set the Emirates Lions on the path to an impressive 60-10 drubbing of the visiting Dragons at Emirates Airlines Park to secure their place in the EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16.

This game was between two teams locked together on the same number of points in Pool 2 and tied in fourth so it was effectively a knockout game, but it didn’t take the Lions long to ensure that getting past the obstacle of playing the hosts on the highveld would be a mountain well beyond the reach of the Welsh side.

The Lions scored nine tries to one in a dominant performance, with the Dragons under pressure in the scrums and in containing the Lions’ tempo from the start.

The Lions rollicked along at more than a point a minute until just before the half hour mark, with wing Tapira Mafura scoring the bonus point try that put the Lions 31-3 ahead in the 26th minute.

The Lions didn’t score again in the half, but if there was any doubt the Lions would win that doubt was erased when big No 8 Francke Horn barged over in the left corner for his second try of the game nine minutes into the second half.

The Lions have welcomed two players back from injury in the form of centre Henco van Wyk and flanker Ruan Venter and they both played their part in a comfortable win that was built around an impressive blend of power, skill and pace.

Venter scored a spectacular try in the first half and then another late in the second half when the match was over as a contest and was forceful in carrying the ball, while Van Wyk engaged the defenders whenever he got the ball, which was often.

Centre Rynhardt Jonker was a creative presence in the No 12 jersey and featured in several of the tries while Quan Horn reminded the Emirates Airlines Park patrons of what he can do when he joins the line.

It was his long pass that put his namesake, Francke, over in the right corner for the first try of the match after nine minutes.

Flyhalf Sam Francis, who is carrying into the Challenge Cup the form that he showed in his breakthrough Currie Cup season with the Lions, converted that try to put his team 10-3 up after he and his opposite number Will Reed had earlier traded penalties for a 3-all deadlock.

CREATIVE PRESENCE

Having gone for the posts with the first penalty awarded to the Lions, Francis then kicked the next penalty into the corner to set up an attacking lineout.

The Lions didn’t get over the line from there, but were awarded a scrum in an ideal attacking position when the Dragons knocked on.

From that scrum Horne broke blind before the attack was transferred back in the opposite direction and after a series of drives at the line it was Francis who wriggled through to score his team’s second try of the game.

That made it 17-3 with a quarter of an hour played and it went up to 24-3 when, after Francis failed to find touch with another line kick from a penalty, a poor Dragons clearance fell into the hands of wing Edwill van der Merwe who set in motion the attack that saw the powerful Venter surge 40 metres through several defenders to score the third try.

Jonker was a creative presence with his pass for the fourth try rounded off by wing Mafura, but it was set up by a scintillating run from the effervescent scrumhalf Morne van den Berg.

Even though the Lions didn’t score again in the 14 minutes before halftime the game was effectively over as a contest, although Horn’s second barging effort down the left touchline just before the 50 minute mark made absolutely sure.

The Lions switched up their combinations by bringing on the reserves in the last half hour and although he wasn’t good from the tee, Gianni Lombard showed some impressive attacking touches at flyhalf.

A report on the game would not of course be complete without mention of the powerful Lions scrumming, which ensured that if the Dragons ever did get into an attacking position, there was invariably a big scrum from the Lions that got them out of the situation.

There were several hard working presences in the forwards in general play, not the least being the try scorers Venter and Horne, as well the tireless and omnipresent JC Pretorius.

Lock Etienne Oosthuizen brought good physicality before he was replaced.

Given that the Lions scored nine tries perhaps the most remarkable thing was that for once wing Van der Merwe didn’t feature as a try scorer although he did produce a few of what in soccer parlance would be known as assists.

Scores

Emirates Lions 60 - Tries: Francke Horn 2, Sam Francis, Ruan Venter 2, Tapira Mafura, Gianni Lombard, Jaco Visagie and Manuel Rass; Conversions: Sam Francis 4 and Gianni Lombard 2; Penalty: Sam Francis.

Dragons 10 - Try: Paulu Latu; Conversion: Will Reed; Penalty: Will Reed.

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