Another exceptional performance by 10Bet Lions winger Erich Cronje laid the foundation for the Johannesburg side to sneak home 27-26 against defending Vodacom United Rugby Championship champions Leinster in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Cronje, who was one of the standout players for the Lions against the All Blacks, produced a fighting performance to score a brace of tries, but was everywhere on the field as his abrasive style was always in the face of Leinster on a day where the Irish champs dominated possession and territory but couldn't get the W on the board.
Leinster scored in the 85th minute to ensure they take two bonus points from the game - thanks to outscoring the Lions four tries to two and finishing within seven.
But even though the Lions won, there are some recurring questionmarks that raised their heads again, as the teams’ brittle defence allowed Leinster more than a foothold in the game and it was a far cry from the brave performance against the All Blacks a month ago.
Back then, the Lions looked hungry for victory, but they were mostly outclassed by a young and inexperienced Leinster side, who kept the ball for long periods and whose defence was exceptional - a testament to former Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber.
Their young halfbacks weren’t thrown to the wolves, and came out not only unscathed, but looked like seasoned veterans as young Fintan Gunne scored a hat-trick and both were involved in every attack for the side.
A big part of the Lions’ own downfall at times was their insistence on running from deep inside their own half as Leinster’s defence held and pounced, keeping the Joburg side under a lot of pressure.
Considering there were very few of the seasoned professionals in this Leinster side, it will definitely be an eye-opener for Cash van Rooyen, whose side may have won but need a lot more clinical execution if they are to make a dent in the competition this year. Leinster may not have only won one in nine in South Africa, but they continue to use the trip as a development tour and since the URC gave them the option of touring early, it has been the basis for their back-to-back victories in the tournament thus far.
However, the Joburg side will point out that they won enough of the micro battles to come out on the right side of the scoreboard, but their counter-punches looked a long way from the side that troubled the men in black a month ago.
It was Gunne who went over from close range to open the scoring for Leinster after a period of sustained pressure early on. But the Lions went toe to toe and hit back almost immediately, with Cronje coming off the wing to take a beauty of an inside ball and scythe his way through to score under the posts.
Chris Smith extended the lead with a penalty but the Lions were soon behind again.
Josh Ericson found a massive gap on the outside, putting away Gunne on his inside for the second try and it seemed as if the Irish side were getting on top with way too much ease.
The home side got themselves in front again as Henco van Wyk took an outside break to send the ball to Boeta Chamberlain, who set Cronje on his way on the wing to round and score his second.
But the joy wasn’t to last long, even though Caspar Gabriel missed a penalty, it was the flyhalf who took the ball through the widest of gaps off a lineout ball to flat-foot the Lions and passed inside for Gunne to get his hat-trick.
That left Leinster ahead 19-17 at the break and while the Lions were more competitive in the second half, they often looked rather perplexed at some of the refereeing decisions from Sam Grove-White as they struggled to get the upper hand.
Eventually it was a Chris Smith penalty on the hour mark that took them into the lead and they finally pulled away when Kelly Mpeku went in at the corner with two minutes to go. Smith’s conversion gave them some distance and would have prevented Leinster from getting any bonus points.
But a yellow card, which took an inordinately long time to adjudicate, and some front foot ball gave Leinster a shot at the line, and they took it when Stephen Smyth went over to secure the bonus point and a lot of joy for their efforts.
The Lions will get stronger, and while they will be happy they beat the defending champions, they know there is a lot of work ahead of them this season.
Scorers
10bet Lions - tries: Erich Cronje (2), Kelly Mpeku. Conversions: Chris Smith (3). Penalties: Smith (2).
Leinster - tries: Fintan Gunne (3), Stephen Smyth. Conversions: Caspar Gabriel (2), Harry Byrne.