It was a case of fourth time lucky for the Lions as they recorded their first United Rugby Championship victory over Ulster with a 35-22 triumph at Ellis Park on Saturday.
Not only that, Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen will be grateful for the four-try bonus point as well, especially as his team didn’t necessarily play their best rugby in front of a sparse crowd in Johannesburg.
The forwards imposed themselves from the start and won the scrum battle, but the backline weren’t always fluent in their execution with ball-in-hand.
The front row of Morgan Naudé, PJ Botha and Asenathi Ntlabakanye were dominant in the set-pieces, but also made a significant contribution in broken play as they carried the ball with power and even finesse at times, with a couple of classy offloads.
A breezy wind saw scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba’s box-kicks and little chips over the top go too far, while flyhalf Kade Wolhuter was sometimes unsure of his decision-making on attack.
But the Lions soon took charge when a strong maul saw Botha breaking down the blindside to find captain and No 8 Francke Horn, who put speedy wing Rabz Maxwane away for the opening try.
Rabz Maxwane scores the Emirates Lions' first try of the new season 🤩🏉
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A direct approach worked wonders for the home side as they made serious inroads with the forwards up the middle, but the pressure didn’t result in many points, with only a Wolhuter penalty making it 8-0.
Ulster appeared to find the 12.55pm kick-off tough in the sun and at altitude – with a welcome water break in the 24th minute a huge relief – as they didn’t pose much of a threat to the Lions defence.
Fullback Quan Horn also used his left boot to good effect for the Johannesburg outfit, and blasted a superb 50-22 kick from inside his own 22 to within six metres of the Ulster line following a brilliant breakdown steal by Botha.
The Lions eventually got their act together just before halftime when a well controlled lineout drive saw Francke Horn cross the whitewash for a 15-0 lead.
But the poor finishing from the hosts came back to bite in the third minute after the halftime hooter as Ulster scrumhalf John Cooney got the visitors back into the game with a touchdown to make it 15-5.
The comeback went into another gear after the break as the men from Belfast realised that they needed to stretch the Lions defence, and they put together 16 phases with some slick handling before flyhalf Aidan Morgan grabbed a five-pointer.
But Lions boss Van Rooyen introduced a number of replacements early in the second half.
The impact was almost immediate as first new hooker Franco Marais crashed over from an organised maul, and then star centre Henco van Wyk – making his return from a serious knee injury – finished off a fine passive of play sparked by Player-of-the-Match Quan Horn, who beat three defenders and offloaded to midfielder Erich Cronjé, before Van Wyk dived over under the posts.
Elusive running by Quan Horn ⚡
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Henco van Wyk under the posts for the Emirates Lions 🤩
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Suddenly it was 30-10 after a Wolhuter penalty, but Ulster are a quality side and didn’t give up the fight.
Former Sharks wing Werner Kok beat Wolhuter in chasing Nathan Doak’s kick-ahead, but the Northern Ireland side weren’t able to score quickly again to make it a thrilling finish.
By the time replacement tighthead Corrie Barrett burrowed over with two minutes left, it was too late to rescue a victory, but at least Ulster claimed a four-try bonus point.
Wolhuter then ended proceedings with a stunning dummy from 30m out to go all the way for a fifth Lions try.
Points-Scorers
Lions 35 – Tries: Rabz Maxwane, Francke Horn, Franco Marais, Henco van Wyk, Kade Wolhuter. Conversions: Wolhuter (2). Penalties: Wolhuter (2).
Ulster 22 – Tries: John Cooney, Aidan Morgan, Werner Kok, Corrie Barrett. Conversions: Nathan Doak (1).