Lions break Province hearts
Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:59
Tall timber: WP lock Andries Bekker goes on the run
The Golden Lions broke Western Province hearts, recording a thrilling 27-25 win in their Currie Cup encounter in Johannesburg on Saturday and in the process preventing WP from claiming first place on the standings.
While the Lions' season has ended and they will finish in a disappointing sixth place on the standings, they managed to salvage some pride from what has been roller-coaster ride of a year.
But more important, it means that Province will now host the Blue Bulls in one semi-final next week and the Sharks will be at home to the Free State Cheetahs in the other.
The winning score may have been a 73rd-minute penalty by Lions scrumhalf Chris Jonck, but it was a game of inches and the two points on the board tell just how little there was between the sides.
In a game of brutal collisions, it was the Lions' dominance at the breakdown that ultimately won the day against a Province team determined to score four tries.
It was also that approach, of chasing tries before securing the win, that proved to the WP's downfall against an inspired Lions team.
With plenty of problems in the set pieces - prop Wicus Blaauw was penalised several times for putting his hand on the deck when under pressure in scrums - Province relied on their counter-attacking ability and play from phase ball to get into scoring positions.
And early on it looked as if those tactics would pay good dividends.
Star centre Juan de Jongh was over for the first try inside a minute - lock Andries Bekker powering through and into the Lions 22, with flank Francois Louw carrying the ball on and it was left to De Jongh to dot the ball down. And with Joe Pietersen slotting the conversion, Western Province held an early lead.
Herkie Kruger (fifth minute) and Pietersen (10th minute) exchanged penalties as WP continued to pound the Lions' line.
The visitors eventually got some rewards for their numerous expansive raids into Lions territory, when Pietersen rounded off another sweeping move at the end of the first quarter with WP's second try. Louw won a turnover and Bekker again charged clear, before Pietersen rounded off and added the conversion to put the visitors into a commanding 14-3 lead.
By now the Lions started to get rewards for their fierce contesting of the scrums, forcing Western Province into making mistakes.
With seven minutes remaining in the half, the Lions scrum turned over possession and through a series of rucks took the ball up to the tryline, from where centre Doppies la Grange stepped inside and did well to dot down in Frikkie Welsh's tackle.
Kruger kicked the conversion, but Pietersen replied with a penalty to give WP a 20-10 lead.
But then, with time up in the first half, Willem Alberts, as he has done so many times in a trying campaign, stepped up for the Lions.
The No.8 wrestled his way through three friendly tackles - including a rather sloppy effort by Bekker - and burst into the 22, Peter Grant eventually bringing him to ground in the shadow of the poles. But La Grange was on hand to dive over from the ruck and, with Kruger converting, the Lions were right back in the game at 17-20 - going into the half-time break.
Brumby Matthew To'omua was introduced by WP coach Allister Coetzee at the start of the second half, needing to play for another 40 minutes to be eligible for the knockout stages.
Province were camped in Lions territory for the opening 15 minutes of the second half, but gained nothing from it as To'omua could not bring the best out of a reshuffled backline - which saw Peter Grant at inside centre, De Jongh at outside centre and Welsh on the wing in place of Sireli Naqelevuki.
The Lions defence showed pride and commitment to keep the numerous WP raids out.
The patience of WP held until the 56th minute, when they conceded a penalty, which the Lions were able to kick into touch on the WP 10-metre line. The injection of pace replacement wing Michael Killian then provided down the left wing and the slick hands of Earl Rose joining the backline then created the overlap and the busy Dusty Noble, one of the Lions' unsung heroes, scampered over.
Kruger converted and the Lions were in the lead - 24-20 - for the first time.
But they allowed Western Province to go back in front after Bekker had produced a massive clearance from his own in-goal area into the Lions' 22. The home side then infringed and Province, who had not scored a try in 47 minutes, kicked for touch. Bekker was untouchable in the line-out and the Lions - who managed to stop the rolling maul - failed to prevent a determined Francois Louw from forcing his way over from the ruck that followed.
Western Province were back in the lead - 25-24 - and needed just one more try in the last 12 minutes to claim five log points and finish on top of the standings. But the try just would not come.
A poor clearance by To'omua resulted in a penalty against Western Province and Jonck, who was a jack-in-the-box throughout, kicked an excellent angled penalty, under pressure.
A Lions side desperate for a telling victory to finish a troubled year then dug deep and hung on to the end.
Man of the match: You have to look at Francois Louw and Duane Vermeulen, two of the most underrated loose forwards in the country. Then there was Joe Pietersen, with some long raking kicks, great goal-kicking and an allround brilliant tactical performance. For the Lions captain Cobus Grobbelaar scrapped for every bit of possession, while Derick Minnie also had several great steals. However, our award goes to Lions scrumhalf Chris Jonck, a man who has played in the shadow of the outstanding Emerging Springbok Jano Vermaak for so long. Jonck's kicking from the base and tactical appreciation was superb, while he also showed that he is a handy goal-kicker.
The scorers:
For the Golden Lions:
Tries: La Grange 2, Noble
Cons: Kruger 3
Pens: Kruger, Jonck
For Western Province:
Tries: De Jongh, Pietersen, F Louw
Cons: Pietersen 2
Pens: Pietersen 2
Teams:
Golden Lions: 15 Earl Rose, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Jannie Boshoff, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Johan Jackson, 10 Herkie Kruger, 9 Chris Jonck, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Nico Luus, 3 Kevin Buys, 2 Hans van Dyk, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Torrie Meyer, 17 Wayne Swart, 18 Willem Stoltz, 19 Todd Clever, 20 Ruan Boshoff, 21 Walter Venter, 22 Michael Killian.
Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Tonderai
Chavhanga, 13 Frikkie Welsh, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Sireli Naqelevuki, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Luke Watson (captain), 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 JC Kritzinger, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Wicus Blaauw.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 JD Moller, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Dewaldt Duvenage, 21 Matt Toomua, 22 Gio Aplon
Referee: Marius Jonker
Assistant referees: Ben Crouse, Madel Herselman
TMO: Michael Cupido
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