The Fidelity ADT Lions relied on two spectacular individualistic tries to pull away from a plucky Toyota Cheetahs team to secure a 43-34 semifinal win at Emirates Airlines Park that booked them their place in next week’s Carling Currie Cup final at the same venue.
In a game of exciting back play but at times woeful defence, the try fest saw the lead change no less than eight times.
However, with the Cheetahs leading 29-26, and with their stronger scrum threatening to win it for them, enter the 2023/24 Vodacom United Rugby Championship Player of the Season Sanele Nohamba, who replaced Kade Wolhuter, who himself had shown some promising touches, deep in the third quarter.
Nohamba marked his arrival on the field by kicking a penalty to draw the scores level at 29-all and then with 64 minutes gone on the clock came the effective game breaker as the replacement flyhalf broke through from 25 metres out to run through and score a try he converted to put his team 36-29 ahead.
That committed the Cheetahs to a chasing role, and they came close a few times but then a brilliant pick up of a loose pass down near his ankles by the Lions replacement hooker Morne Brandon saw him blitz through like a centre three-quarter and run 40 metres to score, with the last bit of his charge to the line featuring two somersaults as he was upended in the tackle and went to ground, swivelled over onto his feet, went back to the ground and was then up again to dive over the line.
The Nohamba conversion gave the Lions their most comfortable buffer of the game as they led by 14 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, but the Cheetahs showed their never-say-die attitude as replacement backline player George Lourens went over with just three minutes remaining.
Had Lourens converted his own try there might have been some anxious last moments for the Lions, but he missed and the Lions’ place in the final was effectively secured.
Top of the log and the first team into the 2024 #CarlingCurrieCup final 🦁🏉
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 14, 2024
The Fidelity ADT Lions will play either the Vodacom Bulls or the Hollywoodbets Sharks at Emirates Airline Park next week 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Hx0gpmA1Q3
MAN OF THE MATCH
The Cheetahs gave the lie though early in the game to any theory that the Lions were overwhelming favourites with the visitors’ flyhalf Ethan Wentzel continuing his excellent form in his breakthrough season by scoring two good early tries.
The first came after just five minutes as he picked up his own kick ahead to go over for a try he converted to make it 7-0, and then five minutes later he popped up to make use of the space created down the right wing flank by some good work by Munier Hartzenberg, who effectively set it up with his little show and go.
At 14-0 up after 10 minutes the Cheetahs had the wind in their sails, but the Lions changed tactics and got their kicking game right and started to pressure the Cheetahs back three.
It was effectively their poor exiting that cost them their momentum, with Wolhuter charging down an attempted Cheetahs clearance near their own 22 metre line and sending No 8 Jarod Cairns in for the try.
Cairns ended up with the man of the match award, and deservedly so, as apart from his more than 15 carries and that try, plus a later try assist, he was also instrumental in forcing a few crucial turn-overs in his defensive role.
One of those led to the end to end counter-attack from the Lions that put his fellow loose-forward Ruan Vermaak over in the left corner.
That was in the 38th minute and brought the Lions back to level at 19-all after Cheetahs fullback Michael Annies had featured in the creation of an excellent try to wing Cohen Jasper a few minutes before that.
Wentzel had to go off for an HIA following a knock sustained in the buildup and the Cheetahs were a bit unfortunate as the replacement kicker Annies had to rush his attempt and he was timed out.
ABJECT DEFENCE
The second Lions try, the one that brought them to level terms after 31 minutes, featured a bullocking charge for the line by the unstoppable Lions big man Asenathi Ntlabanakanye.
The Lions broke the deadlock and effectively went into the lead for the first time straight after halftime when they countered a Cheetahs kick and Marius Louw, who was later yellow carded for a dangerous tackle, went over in the right corner.
The type of game it was though was summed up by the fact that the Cheetahs struck straight back with a try to lock Victor Sekekete, with abject defence from the home team being as instrumental in the score as any good attacking play from the Cheetahs.
The Cheetahs didn’t convert so they trailed by two but their scrumming dominance forced a penalty from which they drove over the line from the lineout and replacement hooker Vernon Paulo completed the grounding.
That though was when Nohamba was introduced and it was mostly all the Lions after that.
SCORES
FIDELITY ADT LIONS 43 - Tries: Jarod Cairns, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Ruan Venter, Marius Louw, Sanele Nohamba and Morne Brandon; Conversions: Kade Wolhuter 3 and Sanele Nohamba 2; Penalty: Sanele Nohamba.
TOYOTA CHEETAHS 34 - Tries: Ethan Wentzel 2, Cohen Jasper, Victor Sekekete, Vernon Paulo and George Lourens; Conversions: Ethan Wentzel.