Fourteen-man Lions blow Racing 92 away
MATCH REPORT: A resilient Lions team survived an early red card to book a spot in the Challenge Cup quarterfinals.
Emmanuel Tshituka was sent off in the 18th minute for leading with an arm when the Lions were leading 15-7.
However, the team showed immense character and recorded a 51-28 win over Racing 92 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Lions outscored the French team seven tries to four.
A perfectly timed intercept by Marius Louw saw the captain register the first point of the board with an early try.
Sanela Nohamba added the conversion for the 7-0 lead.
7-0 Soon became 12-0 when overturned possession made sure Edwill van der Merwe cross over the line.
Racing hit back immediately with Thomas Moukoro powering over the line. Nolann Le Garrec made sure to get the full points with a conversion.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they conceded a penalty inside their own five which was easily converted by Nohamba for a 15-7 lead.
And then the Lions fans’ happiness soon turned into concern when Emmanuel Tshituka was handed a red card after for dangerous play (leading with the forearm).
But, despite being a man down the Lions regrouped and showed no weakness. They were still very dangerous on the attack, an offload from Pieter Botha followed by a break by Gianni Lombard made sure Sibahle Maxwane dived over the line for the side’s third try.
Racing 92 started to press again and Moukoro got his second try at the back of the maul. Le Garrec added the extras.
It was end-to-end stuff and Racing 92 almost took the lead however it was the hosts who had the last say in the first half.
From a successful lineout, the Lions set up play before Ruan Venter bumped off a couple of defenders for the bonus-point try.
Nohambe added the extras for the 27-14 lead at the break.
Racing 92 drew first blood in the second stanza, Ben Volavola, sidestepped two players before crossing the chalk for the points.
In a space of five minutes, the two teams exchange tries with Lombard and wing Donovan Taofifénua getting over the line for their respective teams.
It was all the Lions in the last quarter of the match. Nohambe scored and converted his try before Springbok Andries Coetzee ended the festivities with a penalty for the comfortable 23-point win.
The result means the Lions will travel to Scotland to face Glasgow Warriors next weekend.
Man of the match: Gianni Lombard and Sanele Nohamba deserve a mention, while captain Marius Louw led from the front and was just incredible. However, our nod goes to Lions flank Ruan Venter, for his incredible workrate. He scored a try and was an absolute beast on the field.
The scorers:
For the Lions:
Tries: Louw 2, Van der Merwe, Maxwane, Venter, Nohamba, Lombaard
Cons: Nohamba 5
Pens: Nohamba, Coetzee
For Racing 92:
Tries: Moukoro 2, Volavola, Taofifénua
Cons: Le Garrec 4
Red card: Emmanuel Tshituka (Lions, 18 –dangerous play, leading with the forearm)
Teams:
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Sibahle Maxwane, 13 Manuel Rass, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Gianni Lombard, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Willem Alberts, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Pieter Botha, 1 Jean-Pierre Smith.
Replacements: 16 Morné Brandon, 17 Rhynardt Rijnsburger, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Ruben Schoeman , 20 Travis Gordon, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Rynhardt Jonker, 23 Andries Coetzee.
Racing 92: 15 Louis Dupichot, 14 Donovan Taofifénua, 13 Warrick Gelant, 12 Olivier Klemenczak, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Cameron Woki, 7 Maxime Baudonne, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Anthime Hemery, 3 Ali Oz, 2 Peniami Narisia, 1 Thomas Moukoro
Replacements: 16 Jonathan Maiau, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Fabien Sanconnie, 20 Ibrahim Diallo, 21 Martin Meliande, 22 Max Spring, 23 Asaeli Tuivuaka
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Ian Tempest (England) & Jonathan Healy (England)
TMO: Dean Richards (England)