The Emirates Lions produced a Jekyll and Hyde performance to play some of their best rugby of the season, only to then disintegrate and produce a second-half horror show to lose 39-36 to a second string Leinster side in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship match at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday.
The Lions went from 36-21 up to looking listless, out of sorts and out of breath as the young Leinster side - who were missing an entire team - came back and scored their first win in South Africa.
To say this was a disintegration would be kind. The Lions fell apart with the sort of ease that has characterised their season. One minute they are exceptional and play the world alight, The next they look as controlling a game is foreign to them.
To be three scores ahead against a young Leinster team, at a time when Leinster were reduced to 13 men, and then to lose is something the Lions will be kicking themselves about.
What a fight back from @LeinsterRugby ??
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They head home with a bonus point win!@Vodacom #URC | #LIOvLEI pic.twitter.com/zlDRSknWV8
But it only serves to show how much potential the side have and how much, at the same time, they have missing against better coached teams. This was simply a game they shouldn’t have lost, but somehow they found a way to gift the game to the opposition.
And in the process they killed off their own outside hopes of sneaking into the playoffs of the URC.
Their last 20 minutes was a total contrast - night and day comes to mind - from their first 60 where they had Leinster on the rack, spread them wide and found some gaping holes in the opposition to score five tries.
But at the same time every time Leinster put together an attack, they looked to score with ease, and it was inevitable when the tide turned in the last 20 that Leinster were going to come back and win.
LEINSTER SHUT UP SHOP
Where composure was needed, there simply was none. Leinster, on the other hand, despite being a second string outfit, had it in droves.
The contrast from when the penalty try was scored - 36-21 against 13 men - and how Leinster controlled the game must be applauded.
They may be a second string side, but they are one of the best coached sides in the world, and showed it with the way they controlled the game.
Down to 13, you may have thought it was the Lions that were at a disadvantage, so little ball they had in that period.
Leinster simply shut up shop, pinned the Lions in their own half and took penalty after penalty. That the Lions couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole was one thing, but to dig themselves deeper was criminal.
Looking back at the first half, it was hard to see this as the same team.
Even though Vakh Abdaladze stormed his way with a bullocking run to the opening try, it was all Lions from then on.
The movement was sublime, the attack blistering and it wasn’t surprising that they managed to keep the scoreboard ticking.
LIONS GIFT LEINSTER SOFTEST OF TRIES
It was Edwill van der Merwe - the master of the Lions' counter attack - who scored first, dissecting the defence with ease.
Then Gianni Lombard added his name to the scoresheet, grubbering ahead before toeing it once more to collect and score a solo try.
Every time the Lions wanted to get away, Leinster came back at them. Liam Turner ran a beautiful line to level scores before Marius Louw scored possibly the try of the match.
Van der Merwe looked to pass and threw an audacious dummy, then bolted ahead before a no-look pass to Sanele Nohamba, who in turn threw a back flip to Louw for a beauty of a try.
It was magical Lions, it was unstoppable.
Louw threw a very flat pass, marginal, to Francke Horn who danced down the touchline to add the third try and give the Lions a 26-15 lead at the break. They deserved to be further ahead.
The Lions started the second half poorly, gifting Leinster the softest of tries after they bobbled a ball at the back of the lineout and Leinster picked up and after four phases saw Michael Milne crash over to score.
Nohamba added a penalty and the Lions pressed hard, twice being denied by an outstretched hand that cost Leinster a yellow card. While both could have been penalty tries, referee Mike Adamson only gave the second one.
And then the game turned. Tries by Rob Russell and Chris Cosgrave pulled Leinster level.
Even though the Lions looked to have weathered the final storm, Adamson gave a penalty, and Sam Prendergast kicked it home.
The Lions’ last home game of the season - their next is at Loftus Versfeld - was supposed to be a celebration. Instead a young Leinster side claimed a famous victory that showed the difference between the coaching at the two clubs.
SCORERS
Emirates Lions - tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Gianni Lombard, Marius Louw, Francke Horn, Penalty try. Conversions: Sanele Nohamba (3) Penalty: Nohamba
Leinster - tries: Vakh Abdaladze, Liam Turner, Michael Milne, Rob Russell, Chris Cosgrave. Conversion: Sam Prendergast (4). Penalty: Prendergast (2)