Lions maul Highlanders
The Lions produced the most impressive comeback of the season when they beat the Highlanders 28-23 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Outscoring the visitors by three tries to two, the Lions came back from trailing 3-20 at the half-time break - outscoring the tiring visitors by 25-3 in the second half.
It was a rush of second-half replacements, with Elton Jantjies and Francois de Klerk top of the pile, that turned the tide for a home team looking dead-and-buried at the end of a very ordinary first half.
The Highlanders found out the hard way that not all teams capitulate like the Sharks did last week.
It is a result that took the Lions another step closer to their first appearance in the play-offs since their split from the Cheetahs 10 years ago.
The Lions' scrums may have been a dominant factor, but their line-outs were a mess - gifting the Highlanders plenty of free gifts.
It also didn't help the home team that they conceded a host of turnovers - either at the breakdown, or through some sloppy handling.
The Highlanders showed why they are rated as one of the tournament's most dangerous team from turnovers. While their scrums were under pressure, they made life decidedly unpleasant for the home team in the line-outs and at the breakdown.
In the second half the Lions got their maul working, to devastating affect, setting up their two comeback tries - scoring one from 20 metres out. More importantly, it gave them the momentum and belief that they could actually win.
Marnitz Boshoff and Lima Sopoaga exchanged penalties in the first quarter, before a Sopoaga drop-goal gave the Highlanders the lead on the half-hour mark.
However, the last 10 minutes of the opening half turned into a disaster for the home team - with turnovers hurting them most.
The first try came after 35 minutes, from a line-out near the Lions' line. The Highlanders looked like setting up a maul, but then took the ball wide where quick hands created space for Gareth Evans. Sopoaga's conversion made it a 10-point game - 13-3.
And then came the hammer blow, right on the stroke of half-time, with a turnover - after the Lions were making good ground with the ball in hand. Malakai Fekitoa picked up the ball and broke around the ruck, sprinting 65 metres for a great individualistic score. Sopoaga's conversion made it 20-3 at half-time.
After Sopoaga pushed an early penalty attempt wide, the Lions bounced back - quick recycling, a break from Harold Vorster and great interplay putting Courtnall Skosan over for the home team's first try. Elton Jantjies, on for a misfiring Boshoff, added the extras - 10-20 with over half-an-hour still to play.
Playing on advantage, fullback Ben Smith then slotted a drop-goal to stretch the lead.
However, the Lions' response was swift and brutal - a powerful maul that moved all of 20 metres and had Jaco Kriel getting an armchair ride over the line. Jantjies made it a six-point game, 17-23, with the conversion.
It was another powerful maul that set up the next try, although centre Harold Vorster got the five-pointer after a line-out and a few quick phases. The first maul gave them the penalty that got them into the Highlanders' 22.
Elton Jantjies gave the Lions the lead for the first time in the 70th minute, with a penalty, and sealed the win in the 77th minute with another three-pointer - making the final score 28-23.
Man of the match: You can always look at the Smiths, Ben and Aaron, with Malakai Fekitoa also a constant threat. Nasi Manu and Mark Reddish were their best forwards, while Lima Sopoaga was the Highlanders' most effective player. The Lions' outside backs - Andries Coetzee, Ruan Combrinck and Courtnall Skosan - all had some promising moments, while Harold Vorster and Alwyn Hollenbach easily matched their more acclaimed opponents in midfield. You can always count on the Lions' loose forwards - Warren Whiteley, Warwick Tecklenburg and Jaco Kriel - while Franco Mostert also put his hand up again. However, our award goes to the Lions' replacement halfbacks - flyhalf Elton Jantjies and scrumhalf Francois de Klerk - who changed the entire complex of the game after they came on early in the second half.
Scorers:
For the Lions:
Tries: Skosan, Kriel, Vorster
Cons: Jantjies 2
Pens: Boshoff, Jantjies 2
For the Highlanders:
Tries: Evans, Fekitoa
Cons: Sopoaga 2
Pen: Sopoaga
DGs: Sopoaga, B Smith
Teams:
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Harold Vorster, 12 Alwyn Hollenbach, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Warren Whiteley (captain), 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Ruan Dreyer, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Ruaan Lerm, 21 Francois de Klerk, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Howard Mnisi.
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (captain) 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Richard Buckman, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 Dan Pryor, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Mark Reddish, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Brendon Edmonds.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Ross Geldenhuys, 19 Elliott Dixon, 20 John Hardie, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen, Rodney Bonaparte
TMO: Johan Greeff