Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Lions roared to a 46-5 victory over the Sharks to help numb some of the bitter taste lingering from their Currie Cup final defeat last year against the same opponents.
This time the Lions did not take the foot off the pedal and kept the young visitors under constant pressure by beating them to the punch in most facets.
The Lions were more assertive up front, showing their claws in the scrums and at the breakdown, while their bite was keenly felt in the back division.
What will be concerning for the Sharks is the fact that their defence was unlocked by several different means. They were exposed from broken play, from first phase possession and the Lions also hurt them from deep as evidenced with debutant Angelo Davids’ try in the 51st minute.
The Sharks hoofed the ball ahead allowing Lions’ fullback Gianni Lombard to gather before passing to flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela.
He sent the ball wide where centre Rynhardt Jonker and No. 8 WJ Steenkamp provided impetus before the burly Davids successfully stretched for the try-line. That handed the Lions a 34-0 lead with slightly less than half an hour to play.
The Sharks were a well beaten side by then and they undermined their own cause by too frequently falling on the wrong side of the law.
Their poor discipline conspired against them with yellow cards for Khuthi Rasivhaga and Jean Smith hurting them early in the second half.
Perhaps as a result of seeing little to no preseason action, the Sharks were a little uncoordinated making avoidable errors. To be fair, the Lions did not play any warm-up matches either and they looked better drilled. Moreover, they displayed greater desire.
Flank Jarod Cairns and captain Jaco Visagie toiled tirelessly, while No. 8 WJ Steenkamp’s support play was exemplary. He delivered two final passes that helped secure the hosts’ tries either side of the break. Substitute backrower Renzo du Plessis made some timely interventions in the second half.
In midfield Jonker made some telling contributions but the player that left the biggest impression in the first half was left wing Rabz Maxwane who ran in two tries.
The Lions kept hurting the Sharks by farming the left flank before the break. Maxwane plucked the ball effortlessly out of the air from a cross kick to score his first try, while his second was far more straight forward benefiting from an overlap.
The Sharks only made it onto the scoreboard in the 68th minute and only through a sloppy error from the hosts. Replacement flyhalf Kade Wolhuter botched his attempt to collect the ball close to his try-line, though he might have been put off by Lombard who also tried to prevent Phiko Sobahle from scoring.
The Lions, however, quickly reminded that they are the dominant force when they again found the Sharks’ wanting down the left. This time, Davids, running down that flank had two inside runners to pick from with his final pass and he sought and found Jonker that stunningly underlined the Lions’ superiority on the day.
Scorers
Lions (24) 46 — Tries: Jarod Cairns, Rabz Maxwane (2), a penalty try, Angelo Davids, Rynhardt Jonker, Layton Horn. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (3). Penalty: Dobela.
Sharks (0) 5 — Try: Phiko Sobahle.
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