The Lions delivered a dazzling display of attacking rugby to crush Edinburgh 54-17 at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon, making the most of almost every opportunity to score they received. Incredibly, the home team had only one-third of possession, but through sheer enterprise when they had the ball, outscored the visitors by eight tries to three.
The Scots started brightly and troubled the Lions with their slick offloading game, but the Lions broke out spectacularly in the sixth minute when Francke Horn was put through a gap inside his half. He sped 40m before offloading to Ruan Venter, who galloped to the posts. Venter was in the No. 4 jersey for this match, a position in which Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes he has a future, and Venter came to the party with a storming performance.
Lions Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg Celebrates 100th Game
Lions scrumhalf Morne van den Berg celebrated his 100th game for the franchise by getting on the scoresheet against Edinburgh. The bonus-point try was landed in the 25th minute, and fittingly, the try went to Van den Berg, who was set up beautifully by half-back partner Chris Smith.
The relentless attacking continued, with the Lions sweeping upfield until lanky lock Darrien Landsberg was in the clear, and he will dine out on how he outpaced the Edinburgh chasers for a memorable score. The half finished extraordinarily — Edinburgh had been camping on the Lions’ line but were eventually penalised. Instead of kicking the ball out, the Lions took a tap penalty and 95m of thrilling attack later, Bronson Mills scored.
Edinburgh Fight Back in Second Half
Edinburgh scored first in the second half, a maul try for replacement hooker Ewan Ashman. The Scots were on the board in the 50th minute at 35-5. They were straight back on the attack, threatening the Lions’ line, but once more the Lions brilliantly turned defence into attack, sweeping upfield until Smith deftly kicked to the openside touchline for Angelo Davids to catch and score.
Here are the key stats from the match:
- Lions tries: 8
- Edinburgh tries: 3
- Possession: Lions 33%, Edinburgh 67%
- Penalties: Lions 2, Edinburgh 1
The Lions’ victory consolidates their playoff position in the United Rugby Championship, and they will look to build on this momentum in their next match. For more information on the United Rugby Championship,
