ÒPINION: The Lions’ unbeaten start to the United Rugby Champiomnship season came to an abrupt end at the weekend, as they suffered a 6-24 loss to Leinster in Dublin.
In truth, whilst the scoreline would indicate a comprehensive loss, the Lions were firmly in the contest heading into the final twenty minutes before two Leinster tries sealed the deal.
Suffering an early blow as fullback Quan Horn departed following a failed HIA, the Lions took some time to reset with the changes in the back three. This departure shifted Springbok winger Edwill van der Merwe to fullback, who was immediately caught out as he attempted a counter-attack, which ultimately led to Leinster’s first try.
Once behind, the Lions struggled to get their hands on the ball as Leinster retained possession and pinned back the men from Johannesburg.
Philip Bendon rated the Lions players!
1 Juan Schoeman – 7
Mirroring his Scottish international brother, Schoeman was dynamic around the park and strong at scrum time. Forcing Rabah Slimani to collapse the early scrums won his team some key penalties, which kept them in the fight throughout the first half.
2 Pieter Botha – 7.5
Perhaps the biggest compliment the hooker can receive was the clear decline in his pack’s ability at set piece when he departed. Whilst on the park, he caused the Leinster front all sorts of trouble at scrum time and was laser accurate with his line-out throwing. In the loose, he was his team’s top carrier through the first half, which, more often than not, saw him running into the Leinster buzzsaw defence.
3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye – 8
Playing like a man of his stature should, Ntlabakanye went route one into the Leinster defence and won the gainline advantage with regularity. At scrum time, he gave both of Leinster’s looseheads a tough time and proved why Toulouse was pursuing him so heavily.
4 Ruben Schoeman – 8
The diesel engine that keeps trucking, the lock was everywhere this afternoon. Carrying when he needed him, making crucial tackles and smashing rucks, the big lock, by and large, kept the dangerous Leinster poachers at bay. Completing 18 tackles, 8 carries and winning 4 line-outs is a snapshot of his impressive performance.
5 Reinhard Nothnagel – 5
Not quite as prominent as his lock partner, Nothangel was a workhorse at the breakdown and made plenty of tackles.
6 Johannes Pretorius – 6.5
Heralded as Albertus Smith 2.0, the former Blitzbokke star had his hands full with the all-Irish international Leinster back row. Overall, he acquitted himself well, and like the man he has been compared to, he covered acres of ground.
7 Jarod Cairns – 4
Since bursting onto the scene this season, Cairns has been nothing short of magnificent for his team. Against a star-studded Leinster back row, he struggled to impose himself effectively. This being said he never shirked any of his responsibilities and was a key target at line-out time.
8 Francke Horn – 5
Superb in the air as he challenged young Leinster hooker Gus McCarthy, the mobile loose forward had a typically industrious outing without any of his normal splash plays. This was likely down to the focus of the Leinster defence who swarmed him any time he got on the ball.
9 Morne van den Berg – 7
Managed the chaos around the breakdown well and kicked solidly from the base of the ruck when needed. Defensively, he was brave with one hit on RG Snyman in the first half, standing out as a key moment that stopped a promising Leinster attack.
10 Kade Wolhuter – 8
A coming of age performance from the 23-year-old who kicked well and pulled the strings masterfully which got his team going through the Leinster rush defence.
11 Edwill van der Merwe – 7
Firing a shot across the bow of the Springbok coaching staff, the pacey winger caused the hard-rushing Leinster defence issues whilst his ability to control the ball with his feet was magnificent. One mistake he made was taking on the Leinster kick chase when he should’ve gone for touch. This error put his team under pressure and ultimately led to the penalty, which set up the first Leinster try. Closing his account with 3 defenders beaten from 7 carriers and 42 meters made was a solid return, given the lack of possession his team had.
12 Rynhardt Jonker – 7
Rock solid in defence as both a tackler and poacher, claiming a key turnover in the first half as Leinster appeared to be building momentum was his biggest highlight reel moment. Staring down Irish veteran Robbie Henshaw, the 24-year-old more than held his own.
13 Henco van Wyk – 7
Relentless work rate from the outside centre who covered the space between himself and his outside backs well. Grabbing the eye with chase back to deny James Lowe a certain try just before the hour mark was a great example of his hustle.
14 Richard Kriel – 4
It was not the best day out for the uber-consistent Kriel, who simply couldn’t work his way into the match, with his team struggling to get any useful possession or territory. From the boot, he had a few misdirected efforts, which didn’t bring his team the relief they desperately needed.
15 Quan Horn – N/A
Departed early with a HIA and did not return.
REPLACEMENTS
16 Franco Marais – 4
Grew into the fixture following early struggles at set piece time as he conceded a free kick in his scrum before struggling to find his targets at line-out time.
17 Heiko Pohlmann
Faced off against fellow gun Thomas Clarkson and didn’t quite manage to match his Irish opponent.
18 RF Schoeman
A far cry from the dynamism of the man he replaced in Asenathi Ntlabakanye around the park, Du Plessis struggled to get to the pitch of the contest as he let slip the Lions ascendancy at scrum time.
19 Ruan Delport – 5
Fulfilled his duties as a workhorse around the park and had some nice moments at line-out time as he relieved the pressure on Marais by being a reliable option at the front.
20 Renzo Du Plessis – 4
Entered the contest as it began to slip away from his team and as such had limited opportunities to get on the ball. Defensively he was solid but didn’t have any great bearing on the outcome.
21 Sanele Nohamba – 6
Injected some pace into the Lions’ attack as he chased every opportunity and came close to an intercept that would’ve seen him with no defenders in front of him.
22 Marius Louw – 5
Came on for the highly impressive Rynhardt Jonker and was solid in defence but lacked the spark in attack that his predecessor brought to the contest.
23 Erich Cronje – 5
Played the bulk of the contest following Quan Horn’s departure and played well defensively on the wing as Edwill van der Merwe shifted to fullback. In attack, he had no real opportunities to shine.
@RugbyPass
