It took a miracle moment - something totally against the run of play - for the Emirates Lions to finally claim their first victory in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they came from behind to beat the Scarlets 24-23 in Llanelli on Saturday night.
After staring defeat in the face in a game that would easily be forgotten by both sides, the Lions miracle came after one of the poorer kicks of the game, as they turned over the ball and flyhalf Sanele Nohamba grubbered the ball into no man’s land, easily collected by Scarlets winger Steff Evans.
What happened next will be the subject of folklore around their Johannesburg base, as a moment that looked lost turned into gold in a moment that changed everything.
Evans tried to clear the ball, only to be charged down by a flying Richard Kriel, with the ricochet being collected by the Lions winger before putting midfielder Henco van Wyk away for what would be the winning try.
Nohamba stepped up to send the conversion home and give the Lions an exceptional victory in a game that hardly lived up to the hype.
To be fair to the Lions, this win has been coming for a while. While they don’t possess the stars or the firepower that some of the other sides in the competition do, they have more than made up for it with heart.
And that was so apparent in the charge down when they never gave up, and were rewarded with the magic moment that changed the entire game.
In the process they recorded their first victory in the URC since March when they beat Benetton in Treviso and stopped a five-game winning streak for Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets.
The fact that the Lions kept themselves in a game that momentum was going against them was exceptional, especially as so many other sides would have succumbed under the pressure. And in the moment they became only the second SA side, after the Bulls, to record an away victory on tour.
It all looked so different despite the close scoreline, especially after Scarlets got the scoreboard ticking over when winger Tom Rogers scored after a 10-phase attack in the corner.
The Lions hit back a few minutes later when Marius Louw burgled a try by picking up the ball at the ruck and running straight through without a hand being laid upon him.
A late Scarlets penalty by Ioan Lloyd, who was one of the more impressive Scarlets performers on the night, put his side 10-7 up at the break.
The Lions started off the second half well, and got their reward after bludgeoning the Scarlets line for several phases, troubling the scorers when PJ Botha went over from close range.
Scarlets looked to have wrapped up the game when Ryan Elias went over on the back of a rampaging maul and despire the Lions hopes, it seemed the Scarlets had the answers for everything they threw at them.
Until the moment the miracle came. And the Lions pounced to record a remarkable victory.
But the glory was there for the taking and the Lions, after coming so close so often, will feel finally it went their way.
Scorers
Scarlets - tries: Tom Rogers, Ryan Elias. Conversions: Ioan Lloyd (2). Penalties: Lloyd (3)
Emirates Lions - tries: Marius Louw, PJ Botha, Henco van Wyk. Conversions: Sanele Nohamba (3). Penalty: Nohamba