Lions roar into final
A dominant performance by their pack of forwards enabled the Lions to beat the Waratahs in their Super Rugby semifinal at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Lions surged past the Waratahs on Saturday in Johannesburg with a six-try 44-26 win to reach the Super Rugby final.
The Lions progressed to their third successive final. Once all is said and done, that is all that will matter to the men from Gauteng.
Despite falling 14 points behind at the start of Saturday's semifinal, the fact remains that the Lions' pack then fronted up in fine fashion, as the hosts fashioned an impressive comeback to ultimately claim a comfortable victory.
In the second half alone, the Lions outscored their opponents 25-7 to emerge as deserved winners on an afternoon where the Waratahs were ultimately unable to maintain the intensity and pace with which they began proceedings.
The Waratahs had left the Lions stunned in the opening exchanges, with Jed Holloway and Israel Folau dotting down within the opening eight minutes to send the visitors into a handy 14-0 lead that silenced the Ellis Park crowd.
However, the Lions finally settled down after that, with standout flanker Kwagga Smith showing all his strength to strike back with an important try on the quarter-hour mark that would have helped to settle his side's nerves.
Then came a solo special from Bok winger Aphiwe Dyanty, who chipped and collected his own kick before darting past Bernard Foley to score a stunning try to help cut the deficit back to just two points.
That suddenly swung momentum back in favour of the Lions, and despite seeing Franco Mostert denied a try by the TMO, the hosts emphatically continued on their merry way as Malcolm Marx went over from the back of a driving lineout in the 35th minute.
That sent the Lions into a 19-14 lead, and yet with the final play of the half, the Tahs manufactured a well-worked try to Tom Robertson that drew the scores level at the break.
It made for a tense match situation heading into the second period, but Elton Jantjies slotted an important penalty in the 55th penalty to hand the Lions a tenuous advantage.
In the context of the clash, a crucial moment came when Tahs replacement Damien Fitzpatrick was shown a yellow card soon after, and in his absence Marx would go over for his second try.
Soon after, Smith also secured his brace of tries, and suddenly the Lions had some breathing room at 34-19, while Jantjies slotted another penalty soon after to effectively seal the result.
The visitors did manage one final consolation try to Jake Gordon, but the home side would have the last laugh when Courtnall Skosan dotted down late in the game.
In the other semifinal match the Crusaders maintained their seemingly unstoppable progress toward a ninth Super Rugby title when they overwhelmed the Wellington-based Hurricanes 30-12 in a one-sided match.
The Lions will now play the Crusaders in the final this coming Saturday.
-NAMPA/ANA
The Lions progressed to their third successive final. Once all is said and done, that is all that will matter to the men from Gauteng.
Despite falling 14 points behind at the start of Saturday's semifinal, the fact remains that the Lions' pack then fronted up in fine fashion, as the hosts fashioned an impressive comeback to ultimately claim a comfortable victory.
In the second half alone, the Lions outscored their opponents 25-7 to emerge as deserved winners on an afternoon where the Waratahs were ultimately unable to maintain the intensity and pace with which they began proceedings.
The Waratahs had left the Lions stunned in the opening exchanges, with Jed Holloway and Israel Folau dotting down within the opening eight minutes to send the visitors into a handy 14-0 lead that silenced the Ellis Park crowd.
However, the Lions finally settled down after that, with standout flanker Kwagga Smith showing all his strength to strike back with an important try on the quarter-hour mark that would have helped to settle his side's nerves.
Then came a solo special from Bok winger Aphiwe Dyanty, who chipped and collected his own kick before darting past Bernard Foley to score a stunning try to help cut the deficit back to just two points.
That suddenly swung momentum back in favour of the Lions, and despite seeing Franco Mostert denied a try by the TMO, the hosts emphatically continued on their merry way as Malcolm Marx went over from the back of a driving lineout in the 35th minute.
That sent the Lions into a 19-14 lead, and yet with the final play of the half, the Tahs manufactured a well-worked try to Tom Robertson that drew the scores level at the break.
It made for a tense match situation heading into the second period, but Elton Jantjies slotted an important penalty in the 55th penalty to hand the Lions a tenuous advantage.
In the context of the clash, a crucial moment came when Tahs replacement Damien Fitzpatrick was shown a yellow card soon after, and in his absence Marx would go over for his second try.
Soon after, Smith also secured his brace of tries, and suddenly the Lions had some breathing room at 34-19, while Jantjies slotted another penalty soon after to effectively seal the result.
The visitors did manage one final consolation try to Jake Gordon, but the home side would have the last laugh when Courtnall Skosan dotted down late in the game.
In the other semifinal match the Crusaders maintained their seemingly unstoppable progress toward a ninth Super Rugby title when they overwhelmed the Wellington-based Hurricanes 30-12 in a one-sided match.
The Lions will now play the Crusaders in the final this coming Saturday.
-NAMPA/ANA
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