Lions see off plucky Kings
The Lions were already qualified for the Super Rugby quarterfinals, but they are more ambitious than that, wanting to end up with more points than anybody else to keep the homeground advantage. Top of the table, they were playing a team a long, long way from the top of the table with no pudding to look forward to.
Before a tiny crowd on a lovely evening, the Lions kicked off, threw into a line-out, had a quick throw-in and scored a try after a minute and a half. It must have looked more of a formality than a match.
This may in some way explain their often sloppy performance and why they did not score another try till over a half an hour later.
At half-time coach Johan Ackermann said of his team's performance in the first half: "It was the worst rugby we've played for a long time." His recipe was a return to basics - above all catching and passing. In the second half the Lions scored 40 points- but then a late-match fade by the Kings is par for the course.
That first try promised a walk-over. They ran sharply, passes were in front and secure and Rohan Janse van Rensburg took a little popped pass from Elton Jantjies and burst through to score at the posts. 7-0.
After this the Kings attacked with zest. They won a turnover at a tackle and attacked. Shane Gates broke and they attacked more promisingly. Twice they were stopped right at the line. Louis Fouché chipped and Stefan Watermeyer gathered. Janse van Rensburg knocked on and Fouché was close. The ball came back from a ruck thing on the Lions line and young James Hall dummied and scored. Fouché converted. 7-7 after 14 minutes.
From the kick-off the Lions attacked. They rushed down the right where Ruan Combrinck got a pass inside to Lionel Mapoe who forced his way over but the matter was referred to the TMO who saw Combrinck's lurid left boot touch the touchline.
Janse van Rensburg looked about to score on the left but Wandile Mjekevu stopped him. Franco Mostert and Courtnall Skosan were close. The defence was firm.
The Lions had a five-metre line-out but Aidon Davis won it for the Kings. The Lions worked a clever move at the front of a line-out and Jaco Kriel burst away but again the tackling was secure.
The Lions chose line-outs and scrums but eventually capitulated and Jantjies kicked a goal. 10-7 after 29 minutes.
From a line-out on the Lions right, about six metres inside their half, Jantjies broke and gave to Janse van Rensburg who immediately passed to Andries Coetzee and the speedy fullback raced the 40 metres to the try-line and then round to the posts. 17-7 after 32 minutes.
The Kings kicked off deep, as they always did, and the Lions ran. Prop Julian Redelinghuys passed to Combrinck who raced ahead on the right and the Lions then went left and would have scored but for a forward pass.
At the start of the second half it seemed that the Kings would continue to compete as Watermeyer broke but as the half wore on their zeal for the contest waned somewhat.
The Lions won a Kings line-out in their own half and Kriel raced 40 metres downfield till Hall tackled him. The Kings were penalised and Coetzee tapped and then got the ball back from the ruck to give it to Faf de Klerk who scuttled over for the Lions' third try. 24-7 after 47 minutes.
For the bonus point they needed to be three tries ahead of the Kings. And now the count was 3-1.
The Lions were in another sloppy phase till Jantjies, running across the field, passed and Watermeyer intercepted. Away he ran through empty metres for a try at the posts. 24-14 after 53 minutes and the try count was 3-2.
Malcolm Marx burst away with the ball and Ackermann carried it on till the Kings got into serious trouble.
First Gates was sin-binned after a series of offside offences. The Lions chose a five-metre scrum for the penalty and went left and then right where De Klerk gave Mostert a perfect pass and the energetic lock burst over for a try. 31-14 after 56 minutes.
The litany of tries had begun, helped when the Kings were reduced to just 13 men after captain Edgar Marutlulle was sent to the sin bin, again for repeated infringements. (In the match the penalty count was 14-7 in the favour of the Lions.)
The Lions kicked a penalty out for a line-out 10 metres from the goal-line. They mauled and rushed their maul over for a try credited to Marx. 38-14 after 63 minutes and the try count was 5-2. The Lions happily emptied their bench onto the field. Immediately there was an increase in the Lions' intensity.
The Kings were going through unpromising phases when Janse van Rensburg intercepted a pass and ran 48 unimpeded metres to the posts. Combrinck converted. 45-14 after 68 minutes.
The Lions were down in their own 22 indulging in messy play with passes going awry when suddenly Armand van der Merwe, quite possibly the most deceptive ball-carrier in Super Rugby, picked up the ball and ran with it. Off he went, legs pumping, from two metres inside his 22 to the Kings 10-metre line where he passed a long pass that reached Combrinck who passed inside to the young speedster from George, Sylvian Mahuza who raced away to score at the posts. Combrinck converted. 52-14 after 72 minutes.
The last Lions try was an superb example of excellent handling, passes in front at waist height and suddenly Mahuza was speeding down the left touchline. He gave inside to Skosan who scored the Lions' eighth try. 57-14 with a minute to play.
The Lions did not score again but the Kings did and that was a good thing as they had certainly given of their best.
Howard Mnisi was penalised for intentionally patting the ball into touch on the Kings right. They tapped and went on a sharp attack until the ball came to veteran prop Schalk Ferreira and he scored in the left corner. Fouché converted, and the final whistle sounded at 57-21,
Man of the Match: Much as you may have loved Shane Gates, James Hall, JC Astle and Edgar Marutlulle, the candidates were really several Lions, including Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Andries Coetzee, Courtnall Skosan, Warwick Tecklenburg, Dylan Smith, Malcolm Marx, Jaco Kriel and our choice, Franco Mostert, the all-action lock, who wins line-outs, shoves in scrums, cleans out at breakdowns, tackles and runs with the ball in hand. He was outstanding.
The scorers:
For Lions:
Tries: Janse van Rensburg 2, Coetzee, De Klerk, Mostert, Marx, Mahuza, Skosan
Cons: Jantjies 5, Combrinck 2
Pen: Jantjies
For Southern Kings:
Tries: Hall, Watermeyer, Ferreira
Cons: Fouche 3
Yellow cards: Shaun Gates (Kings, 56 - repeated infringements, offside); Edgar Marutlulle (Kings, 61 - cynical play; slowing the ball down)
Teams:
Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Ruan Combrinck, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Jaco Kriel (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Julian Redelinghuys, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Dylan Smith.
Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Jacques van Rooyen, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Sylvian Mahuza.
Southern Kings: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Lukhanyo Am, 13 Stefan Watermeyer, 12 Shane Gates, 11 Wandile Mjekevu, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 James Hall, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Andisa Ntsila, 5 John-Charles Astle, 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Edgar Marutlulle (captain), 1 Sithembiso Sithole.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Sintu Manjezi, 20 Jacques Engelbrecht, 21 Ntando Kebe, 22 Dewald Human, 23 Jeremy Ward.
Referee: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)