Lions tear into meek Province
The Lions continue to dominate the top of the log in the Currie Cup after a convincing 42-25 thrashing of a conservative Western Province in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The win secures a home semifinal for the Lions, who weren't afraid to play their abrasive attacking game that yielded five tries.
Thoroughly deserved, richly deserved - that is true of the Golden Lions' victory on Saturday evening and true of the award of Man of the Match to Jaco Taute. There was a stage, with just 20 minutes to play, when Western Province got with two points of the Golden Lions, but that was an entirely false impression which the Golden Lions quickly put right as they ran in three more tries.
The Golden Lions scored five tries in all, all of them of their own making. Western Province scored one try, chiefly from a Golden Lions error. The Golden Lions had two players who stood out, two game-breakers, in Taute and Elton Jantjies whose game is now rounded. There seems nothing that he cannot do. Western Province on the other hand, young and enthusiastic, had no game-breakers. They had the metronomic boot of Dimitri Catrakilis and that was all.
Not that Western Province were stodgy and without effort. They added to the life of the game with quick line-outs and counterattacks but the Golden Lions defence was up to all of their efforts. The home side is playing with supreme confidence.
It was a Jantjies chip that set the Golden Lions on the attack as Brok Harris knocked on the awkwardly bouncing ball. A penalty gave them a line-out and then big Warren Whiteley forced his way through a half gap and gave to hooker Bandise Maku who raced over to score. 7-0 after 6 minutes.
Derick Minnie was penalised at a tackle and Catrakilis goaled. 7-3 after 10 minutes. Taute proved his humanity when he dropped an up-and-under to give Western Province a good, attacking position from which Catrakilis dropped a goal. 7-6 after 21 minutes.
Nick Köster and then Minnie were penalised at tackles to make the score 10-9 after 27 minutes. Danie Poolman was penalised for a tip tackle and again Jantjies goaled. 13-9 after 31 minutes.
in the last bit of the half the Golden Lions burst into life. First Franco van der Merwe won a Western Province line out and Michael Killian chipped and chased, but was beaten by the bounce. Then Jantjies bounced off Catrakilis and broke straight through. He played inside to Taute who raced off to the posts for a try. That gave the Golden Lions a generous 20-9 lead at the break.
Western Province started the second half well.. They had a period of serious attacks battering at the Golden Lions' line in 10 phases till their handling let them down. Catrakilis kicked three penalties to make the score 20-18, a score that looked artificial and was proved to be so, as the Golden Lions went about scoring tries.
First Jantjies broke past Tiaan Liebenberg and gave to Doppies la Grange to carry on the attack. Josh Strauss stormed the line and then Taute burst through Nick Köster and got over. 25-18 after 62 minutes.
The Golden Lions went through many phases and then went down the short side. Michael Bondesio gave to Franco van der Merwe who got a quick pass to Alwyn Hollenbach who gave to replacement hooker Martin Bezuidenhout out on the right wing and he bounded over and round for a try at the posts. 32-18 after 67 minutes and a bonus point for the Golden Lions.
Jantjies kicked a penalty goal as the Golden Lions stretched further and further from defeat. But pressure by Hilton Lobberts caused Jantjies to lose the ball backwards. Deon Fourie, who had come on as a flank in the place of Nick Fenton-Wells, snatched it up and raced 48 metres to score. 35-25 with 5 minutes to play. Unlikely as it seems, Western Province were in a position to score a bonus point with another score. Instead the Golden Lions scored. From an attacking scrum, they bashed and Minnie powered straight though Köster to score the try that ended the match.
Man of the Match: Jaco Taute. There is just no doubt about it. It is interesting to speculate how the match would have gone had he been playing for Western Province. He was above all the difference between the two sides.
Scorers
For the Lions:
Tries: Maku, Taute 2, Bezuidenhout, Minnie
Cons: Jantjies 4
Pens: Jantjies 3
For Western Province:
Try: Fourie
Con: Catrakilis
Pens: Catrakilis 5
DG: Catrakilis
The teams:
Lions: 15 Jaco Taute, 14 Deon van Rensburg, 13 Doppies la Grange, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Michael Killian, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Joshua Strauss (captain), 6 Derick Minnie, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Patric Cilliers, 2 Bandise Maku, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Jacobie Adriaanse, 18 David Bulbring, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Burton Francis, 21 Dylan des Fountain, 22 James Kamana.
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Berton Klaasen, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 JJ Engelbrecht, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nick Köster, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Nick Fenton-Wells, 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg (captain), 1 JC Kritzinger.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 Hilton Lobberts, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Pieter Louw, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Johann Sadie.
By Paul Dobson