In an unexpected turn of events in Johannesburg, the United Rugby Championship witnessed the leaders, Leinster, who had been on an upward trajectory both on and off the field, plummet due to a defeat of six tries to two by the Lions. With 13 alterations to the team that previously trounced La Rochelle, Leo Cullen was well-aware of the heightened challenge this game would present. However, he surely had not anticipated a shocking 22-0 lag within the first 15 minutes, thanks to exceptionally early aggression by the Lions.
Just 38 seconds into game, the Lions made their mark with South African scrum-half, Morne van der Berg securing a try after an overlap was created on the left. While Sanele Nohamba managed an easy conversion and also scored a penalty, the Lions further strengthened their lead.
Despite efforts, Leinster struggled to retain control over the ball, often losing possession at a steep cost. This was exemplified when Lions’ Captain Marius Louw seized the opportunity to score, after they intercepted a loose ball, increasing the lead to 15-0, though Nohamba failed in the attempted conversion.
Refusing to let up, the Lions landed their third try, with fullback Quan Horn’s tenth score of the season, thanks to rapid ball movement that created another overlap. This resulted in a lead of 22-0 after Nohamba executed a successful conversion.
Leinster seemed to regain a semblance of control, helped by the returning Charlie Ngatai and the experience of Cian Healy. Andrew Osborne’s injury led to his replacement by Cormac Foley, and despite this setback, the team started to push their opposition onto the defensive during the second quarter.
Despite commendable efforts from Leinster with some potent surges from set-pieces, the Lions demonstrated a solid defence keeping their line unbroken until halftime. Notably, Scott Penny fell slightly short, while on his first start, Diarmuid Mangan, former Newbridge College backrower, was preventatively held up under the goal posts from completing a try. The centre-man, Liam Turner, managed to bypass the first line of defence but unfortunately lost control of the ball after a tackle from Ruan Dreyer, the tighthead.
Despite controlling seventy per cent of the game’s first half, Leinster found themselves behind 22-0. This was due to a penalty corner and another tapped option inside the 22 yielding no loopholes in the opponent’s defence.
After the halftime, the playing trends didn’t change significantly. Foley was denied a try 44 minutes into the game after it was determined that he made a forward pass in the build-up. Additionally, the referee noticed an inconsistency when one assistant referee allowed a goal while the other didn’t.
The Lions took advantage and extended their lead following a 48-metr addition from Nohamba. This required a review from the Television Match Official (TMO) once more.
Leinster’s bad luck persisted, though they did manage to get on the board when Ciarán Frawley scored a converted try off a Harry Byrne kick. The scoreline read 25-7, 53 minutes in, thereby reducing the deficit. However, any hope of a Leinster recovery was short-lived when Erich Cronje’s forceful steal ended a potentially successful Leinster attack, leading to Emmanuel Tshituka scoring a try at their end.
Frawley supplied his second try, aided by decisive actions from Rhys Ruddock, Luke McGrath, and Sam Prendergast. However, the Lions shut the game down with Tshituka bagging his second try and Francke, celebrating his 50th match, scoring a try after another turnover in overtime. This concluded a comprehensive winning performance from the Lions.
In the first minute, Van der Berg made a successful trial, with Nohamba following with a conversion, taking the score to 7-0. At 7 minutes, Nohamba increased the lead with a penalty taking them to 10-0. Louw further cemented the lead with another trial at 11 minutes pushing the score to 15-0. At 14 minutes stage, Q Horn marked a try, followed by a conversion by Nohamba, taking us into half-time at 22-0. The second half saw Nohamba score another penalty at 48 minutes, expanding the lead to 25-0. At 53 minutes, Frawley and Byrne made a try and conversion respectively reducing the deficit to 25-7. The tries from Tshituka at 57 minutes and Frawley at 63 minutes took the score to 30-12. At 76 and 80 minutes, Tshituka and F Horn each secured a try along with a conversion by Hendrikse making the final score 44-12.
The Lions’ team comprised of Q Horn, R Kriel, E Cronje, M Louw, E van der Merwe, S Nohamba, M van den Berg, M Naude, PJ Botha, R Dreyer, W Alberts, R Delport, JC Pretorius, E Tshituka, and F Horn. Substitutions were made at various intervals across the game.
Leinster, on the other side, had C Frawley, R Russell, L Turner, C Ngatai, A Osborne, H Byrne, L McGrath, C Healy, L Barron, T Clarkson, R Molony, J Jenkins, D Mangan, S Penny, and M Deegan. Like their opponents, Leinster too had several replacements throughout the contest.
The match was officiated by G Gnecchi from Italy.