For a moment, the 10Bet Lions dared to dream. And they came so close, but eventually tired at the end as the All Blacks won a very entertaining final midweek tour match 41-35 at Ellis Park on Tuesday night.
Before the game the Lions talked about “the miracle” and the possibility of joining an elite handful of teams that have beaten the All Blacks, but few thought it would happen.
And while the All Blacks eventually had enough firepower to get them through, it will be a night that lives in the Lions’ memories for a long time.
They dared to dream and they came so close.
✅ - Stormers
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 25, 2026
✅ - Sharks
✅ - Bulls
✅ - Lions
The All Blacks complete a clean sweep of the South African Unions 🇳🇿💥#RugbysGreatestRivalry | #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/qIIZ5rNFoD
In the process they have given the Springboks a boost as well, as the loss on Saturday at the same venue in the test may still be fresh, but the good vibes from this game will remind the Boks that if they play right, they can reverse the loss on Saturday.
And the performance couldn’t come at a better time.
For the entire tour we have waited for a franchise side to take it to the All Blacks like the Lions did, and man, was it something to behold.
LIONS SHOWED WHAT THE PROVINCIAL MATCHES SHOULD HAVE BEEN
There were moments in the match that will be told for generations to come, tries that will live in history and a night that the almost 16 000 fans will remember for a long time.
Considering how poor the second match in Durban was in terms of weather, attendance and the show that the Sharks put up, the Lions may have only had a bit more than 1 000 more fans there, but the experience was ten times better.
Expecting fans to turn up on a Tuesday night three days after a massive test match is a big ask and the crowd didn’t disappoint.
And the Lions paid them back in kind by having a go, taking it to the All Blacks and putting on a show for their fans.
The fact they had a week longer to prepare for the match than the other franchises may have helped, as was their training sessions against the Springbok team earlier in the month, but we forget that, like the other franchises they are also in a pre-season and would always have some of the fitness issues that come with that.
But like the Stormers, they rose to the occasion. The Lions hit the All Blacks hard - a brace of tries in each half to be the first franchise team on the tour to lead the men in black and will go down as a side that made a massive impression.
Much of it was to do with their youngsters - the likes of Batho Hlekani and Siba Mahashe, but also the grit of Henco van Wyk, Quan Horn and his namesake Francke.
But a special mention must go to flyhalf Chris Smith, who had one of the best games of his career and proved he isn’t a one-trick pony.
A break down the sideline, some excellent goalkicking and some stunning field work at the back made it a great night for the 10 as well.
PUSHOVER TRY
The Lions front row will have the bragging rights of a pushover try against the All Blacks as well, something that doesn’t often come about.
The only regret would be that the Lions leaked some relatively soft tries against a side that exploits any turnover so well, and will probably kick themselves when they watch the tape again.
Few would have expected the Lions' first surge to give them the opening try and then to go ahead 14-0 a minute later.
It was the first surge from a five metre scrum that opened the gap, and Nico Steyn, with two runners on his outside, saw the tryline and scored all too easily.
Then Mahashe, who is a wonderful prospect for the future and should be wearing Green and Gold sooner rather than later, timed his run off a lineout perfectly to snatch Noah Hotham’s pass and gallop through to score.
Siba Mahashe reads it like a book 😤📖
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 25, 2026
The 10bet Lions are off to a speedy start ⚡👟
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ALL BLACKS CAME BACK
But to keep an All Black side down isn’t easy, and a missed tackle or two on Emoni Narawa set up Hotham to bring the score down by half.
The Lions will also be kicking themselves for not following up a long-range penalty shortly afterwards that hit the post, allowing the All Blacks to clear easily.
The All Blacks came close, losing the ball at the tryline in the 18th minute, but Narawa got the first of his brace in the 25th finishing off a backline move that was just too easy, and which stretched the Lions too far.
The Lions weren’t going to lie down and die, as a move started by Henco van Wyk flowed into the All Blacks 22, and Kelly Mpeku produced a beauty of a finish to add his name to the scoreboard.
There was disappointment that two clear forward passes were missed by the officials late in the first half in the move that led to Ethan Blackadder’s first try.
Nevertheless the Lions went into the break 21-17 ahead.
But the second half start was also something the All Blacks weren’t prepared for. The Lions broke through Mahashe down the near touchline, the ball being booted forward for Erich Cronje to score.
IOANE CLASS
And then waves of defence forced the All Blacks back from the Lions 22 right up until five metres from their line, where the pack took over and scored the pushover try, with captain Horn getting the honour of the try.
But the defence was struggling, and Rieko Ioane underlined his class with a beauty of a solo try to run 50 metres and score, and then Richard Kriel, who had a torrid up and down night, threw an intercept to Ioane to score.
The Lions watched as the scoreline had evaporated from 35-17 to 35-31 and the All Blacks were always going to go for the kill.
The tired legs couldn’t contain them at the end as Blackadder got his second to put the All Blacks ahead. At 63 minutes it was the first time the visitors were in the lead.
Narawa’s second on the stroke of fulltime settled it and while the All Blacks remained unbeaten, the Lions had won the hearts and minds of all on the night and gave South African fans something to smile about.
10BET LIONS - tries: Nico Steyn, Siba Mahashe, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronje, Francke Horn
CONVERSIONS: Chris Smith (5)
ALL BLACKS - tries: Noah Hotham, Eroni Narawa (2), Ethan Blackadder (2), Rieko Ioane (2)
CONVERSIONS: Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga (2)