Rohan Janse van Rensburg scored a brace of tries as the Lions snatched a 28-25 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday. CRAIG LEWIS reports.
For a game that meandered along during a pedestrian first half, it certainly came to an end in thrilling fashion as the result seemingly swung one way and then the next.
After matters were deadlocked 6-6 at half-time, the Cheetahs looked to have taken control. A try to Raymond Rhule soon after the restart, and a third penalty to Fred Zeilinga enabled them to open up a handy 10-point lead.
Although Janse van Rensburg did respond with his first try for the Lions, Zeilinga continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over as the hosts hung onto a 22-16 lead heading into the final quarter. However, the decisive moment came when the Lions were awarded a penalty try after the Cheetahs brought down a tryline-bound lineout drive.
That score, which also saw Francois Uys shown a yellow card, enabled the Lions to take a one-point lead with less than 10 minutes to play, and although another Zeilinga penalty briefly put the Cheetahs back in front, the Lions simply refused to be denied.
As the clock ticked over to 76 minutes, a lovely piece of play enabled Janse van Rensburg – who had been interestingly deployed on the wing – to dart away down the right touchline, with that try finally sealing the win for the desperate visitors.
The frenetic finish might gloss over the fact it was a rather scrappy affair from start to finish, but the Lions will ultimately be pleased to simply come away with a result that looked quite unlikely for much of the match.
Considering the attack-minded nature of both teams, an exciting encounter of free-flowing rugby was understandably anticipated in Bloemfontein, and yet the first half produced very little to get excited about.
It was rather revealing that during the half-time break, talk in the SuperSport studio could only really revolve around the fact that the two teams displayed good attacking ‘intent’, and yet the execution was sorely lacking.
As it was, according to the All Out Rugby stats, the Cheetahs made as many as 16 handling errors to 11 from the Lions, while 11 penalties were conceded in total in the first half.
In an utterly forgettable first half, Elton Jantjies and Zeilinga just traded two penalties each as the scores remained level at 6-6.
The second half did have more to offer, and in the end it would be the Lions who emerged with a rather fortuitous victory.
Cheetahs – Tries: Raymond Rhule. Conversion: Fred Zeilinga. Penalties: Zeilinga (6).
Lions – Tries: Johan Janse van Rensburg (2), penalty try. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalties: Jantjies (3).
Cheetahs – 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Nico Lee, 12 Clinton Swart, 11 Raymond Rhule, 10 Fred Zeilinga, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Paul Schoeman, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Uzair Cassiem, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Johan Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais.
Subs: 16 Elandre Huggett, 17 Danie Mienie, 18 Ox Nche, 19 Francois Uys, 20 Niell Jordaan, 21 Zee Mkhabela, 22 Niel Marais, 23 Ryno Benjamin.
Lions – 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Lionel Mapoe, 13 Howard Mnisi, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Jacques van Rooyen.
Subs: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Lourens Erasmus, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Harold Vorster, 23 Jaco van der Walt.
Photo: Gerhard Steenkamp/BackpagePix
