A 14-man Emirates Lions team produced possibly the best performance ever in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they smashed Connacht 38-14 in Galway on Saturday night.
Presented with mission impossible to travel to the west of Ireland to try and win where no South African franchise has won before in three years of URC action, the Lions went down to 14 men when Asenathi Ntlabakanye was red carded in the 17th minute but galvanised themselves to produce a performance worthy of any Lions team of note before them.
The visitors were dealt an early blow when they lost Ettiene Oosthuizen to injury before Ntlabakanye’s received his marhing orders, meaning they had to replace Emmanuel Tshituka to ensure a full front row was on the field.
But instead of damage control, the Lions were brave and direct and took on the challenge with the type of determination normally seen at Springbok level, refusing to back down.
They faced a Connacht side that should have blown them away, but instead ended up dominating both possession and territory, scoring six tries to two and looking like they were the side with an extra player, not their opposition.
In the process they sent themselves into the top eight to become the third SA side in the qualification zone at this stage for next season’s Investec Champions Cup along with the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls.
The Emirates Lions deliver a clinical performance and emerge victorious against Connacht 🏉
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 23, 2024
Vodacom #URC pic.twitter.com/zZ4DrCa467
PERFORMANCE FOR THE AGES
It was a performance for the ages, an example of how, when everything clicks, this Lions side can be a handful for any team in the competition.
Considering that in nine previous visits by a South African team, none had walked away with a victory, and that Connacht had won their last three games in the URC and lost only one in their last 10 games at home, everything was in the hosts' favour.
But the appearance of a cool, sunny afternoon - and not the wind, rain and inclement conditions - should have been the first sign that something wasn’t normal at the Sportsgound and that perhaps, for once, the Lions could fancy their chances.
To be down a man for 63 minutes of a match and still lead the game for 87 per cent of that match takes some doing, and it was all thanks to some exceptional individual performances.
JC Pretorius rightly won the man of the match award, but the midfield defence of Marius Louw and Erich Cronje was steadfast, while Jordan Hendrikse played possibly his best game in a Lions jersey.
Considering he isn’t the biggest guy on the field, the 18 tackles he made, topping the game charts, shows just how he was targeted and stood up to the onslaught.
But this was a game where every player played out of their skin, did more than was expected and considerably looked the part as they scored six tries - and even had one disallowed.
The Lions certainly looked the part early on, and found gaping holes in the Connacht defence, with Francke Horn holding onto a beauty of a short pass to score in the sixth minute.
RED CARD
But then the hammer blow came, just as Connacht levelled the scores when Cian Prendergast went over from close range.
Taken from a quick tap, Ntlabakanye surged off his line, seemed to stumble and with the opposition player bent from the tap and go, smashed him full on.
Replays made it look clumsy, but there was little argument with referee Craig Evans as he adjudged it to be head contact and with force, prompting the red card.
With Tshituka also off the field, the Lions lost two of their more potent attacking weapons and the expectation was that it would be one-way traffic.
But Connacht either had white-line fever or were rushed, as they kept on making inroads, only to lose the ball, or concede turnovers at crucial times.
This wasn’t the recipe that we all expected. In fact, it seemed to breathe more life into the Lions as they surged forward.
It was just eight minutes after Ntlabakanye buried his head in his jersey on the sidelines that Pretorius went over at the back of a rolling maul.
The home crowd was stunned. The Lions kept up the pressure and to everyone’s disbelief led the game at halftime 14-7.
HAMMER DOWN
Connacht emerged determined to find gaps in the Lions' defence but never seemed to really open them up.
Despite the lopsided numbers, there was always a Lions player covering on defence, putting their bodies on the line and forcing errors from the home side.
The desperation was palpable, and as the game went on their confidence grew and became infectious.
Eight minutes into the second half the error came from the home team, a long pass went straight into Edwill van der Merwe’s breadbasket and he set off with the intercept, running 50 odd metres to score with the biggest smile on his face.
The speed, the dive, the celebration 🎉
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 23, 2024
Edwill van der Merwe is here to entertain 😍@Vodacom #URC | #CONvLIO pic.twitter.com/Kts95ExJU1
Connacht roared back and camped in the Lions' half, putting the Lions' defence under constant pressure until the hole finally opened in the 55th minute for JJ Hanrahan to run in and score untouched.
It seemed to be the moment that could change the game. With the crowd baying for them, the lead was cut to five points and it became a pivotal moment.
But in that moment, another hero emerged. The Lions enjoyed some territory but seemed to be going nowhere, until a loose pass found Erich Cronje.
The midfielder stopped, readjusted and pinned his ears back, ghosting between two players to score untouched and deliver a massive blow to Connacht’s hopes and confirm the bonus point for four tries scored.
Erich Cronje out here creating something from nothing 🥵@Vodacom #URC | #CONvLIO pic.twitter.com/mKaccqiw7H
— Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial_RSA) March 23, 2024
But they weren’t out of the woods yet. The scoreline was still close enough that Connacht could haul them in.
It was left to Pretorius to set up the killer blow, breaking blind from a scrum before a beauty of an offload to Van der Merwe, who sent the ball inside at the right time for Horne to run in the try that would settle the game, and bring celebrations and relief to the bench.
Morne van den Berg scored a late 70-metre try to drive the last nail into Connacht’s coffin as the Lions truly got down to enjoying a historic evening.
And sent out a massive warning to the rest of the competition in the process.
Scorers
Connacht - tries: Cian Prendergast, JJ Hanrahan. Conversions: Hanrahan (2).
Emirates Lions - tries: Francke Horne (2), JC Pretorius, Edwill van der Merwe, Erich Cronje, Morne van den Berg. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (4)