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Lions blow it again

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:28

On the ball: Highlanders captain Jimmy Cowan - Pic: Doug Fitz-Gerald

The Lions, feeling the full wrath of the referee , Stuart Dickinson, blew a golden opportunity to record their first win of the season - when they were beaten 39-29 by the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday.

The Lions produce funny results all right. They score 65 points and lose; they score five tries to three and lose. They certainly carry on losing. Not that they do not play well but with more missed tackles than any team of their calibre they cannot hope to win. They do so many things well. They attack well, they win turnovers and then undo their good work with poor tackling. Some of it is worthy of a comic strip.

Earl Rose does many good things but tackling is certainly not one of them and then he compounded his error rate by losing the ball over the line under the posts when the Lions deserved a try.

Then, too, there were the penalties. Referee Dickinson ruled the game with a heavy hand. There were 31 penalties, including a penalty try. 31! That is a lot in the Super 14. The division was 18 against the Lions, 13 against the Highlanders, most of whose penalties came late in the match.

That Israel Dagg kicked all those penalty goals tells the story of whose half they were playing in.

And before anybody gripes the penalty try looked perfectly fair. From a line-out maul the Highlanders did what the Lions did best - drove a maul towards the Lions line. They were going at a good rate when Franco van der Merwe pulled the maul down.

The penalty came as a result of a late shoulder charge by Walter Venter which earned him a yellow card.

The harshest penalty of the lot was against the Lions. They were right on the Highlanders' line when they won the ball back from a tackle/ruck. Willem Stoltz grabbed the ball and dived over and was penalised for hands in a ruck - if it was a ruck. There are many opportunities for "hands in the ruck" that make applying the goose-and-gander principle impossible.

The Lions certainly contributed to their own downfall. Not that the Highlanders were great shakes. Their handling, especially that of their flyhalf Robbie Robinson, was poor. That meant that their backs could not be creative. But then they had Dagg to make points for them.

It was a warm, perfect evening in Dunedin though not even that could draw much of a crowd.

The first penalty was against Jamie Mackintosh from a scrum. It was right in front but Carlos Spencer missed. He goaled a difficult conversion and then missed the next two. The Lions could have done with the seven points.

But the Lions scored first. They mauled from a line-out and when that maul was stopped they mauled again before slipping the ball to Michael Killian on the right and he went over in the corner. Spencer converted from touch. 7-0 after 8 minutes.

Right from the kick-off Ross Geldenhuys was penalised for obstructing the would-be tacklers and Dagg kicked the first of six penalties. 7-3.

Again the Lions used a penalty to form a five-metre line-out. They put their backs into the line-out, Franco van der Merwe caught the ball and they drove the maul at the line for a try credited to Cobus Grobbelaar. 12-3 after 16 minutes.

Again the Lions were penalised at the kick-off and again Dagg goaled. 12-6.

Again the Lions mauled from a nine-man line-out. They drove the maul and Grobbelaar was close. Suddenly they went wide. Those backs who had been in the line-out had been misleading for they were in position on the left and Wigan Pekeur had an easy run-in for the try. 17-6 after 22 minutes. It took them 47 minutes to get their next points and in the meantime the Highlanders had scored 33 points.

First of all they got a try when Kenny Lynn, with effortless ease, ran past Killian on the left from a midfield scrum. He passed inside to John Hardie who have to Jimmy Cowan who ran on a diagonal at the posts. Knocked down he popped the ball to Hayden Triggs who scored, 17-13 after 30 minutes.

By half-time the Highlanders, improbable as it seemed, trailed by three tries to won but led 22-17 with three more penalties for Dagg when  Derick Minnie and Grobbelaar were penalised at tackles and Heinke van der Merwe at a scrum./\\The second half started in like manner. Doppies la Grange missed a tackle, Grobbelaar was penalised and Dagg goaled.

Around the halfway line the Highlanders attacked and Dagg kicked a long way downfield. Venter tackled late but the ball rolled into the Lions in-goal where Tonderai Chavhanga and Pekeur seemed to have the ball well covered. Seemed. Chavhanga bungled and Lynn scored an unlikely try. 32-17 after 52 minutes.

It was after this that Lions mauled, got close and were then penalised for hands in a ruck.

Minnie had a long run off a line-out, but then Venter tackled late, the Highlanders mauled  and the penalty try was awarded. 39-17.

The Lions made a penalty into a five-metre line-out and were close. The Highlanders were penalised on their line and JP Joubert gave to Rose who dived over under the posts but lost the ball.

Then, with 11 minutes to go, the Lions went right from a five-metre scrum and Joubert scampered over the line untouched. Rose missed the easy conversion. 39-22.

From now on the Lions tried to score, running from deep within their own territory. Spencer started one inside his own 22 that ended up with Robert Kruger close to the Highlanders' line. The Highlanders were penalised, Joubert tapped and Pekeur scored. Rose converted. 39-29 and back the Lions came in search of a try that would have given them a second bonus point. They had a five-metre scrum but Rose, playing flyhalf, passed to nobody, and it all fizzled out.

Man of the Match: Israel Dagg, not just for his nigh impeccable boot but also for his vision, adventure and skill.

The scorers:

For the Highlanders:
Tries: Triggs, Lynn, Penalty try
Cons: Dagg 3
Pens: Dagg 6

For the Lions:
Tries: Killian, Grobbelaar, Pekeur 2, Joubert
Cons: Spencer, Rose

Yellow card: Walter Venter (Lions, 62 - foul play, shoulder charge)

Teams:

Highlanders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Kenny Lynn, 12 Michael Hobbs, 11 James Paterson, 10 Robbie Robinson/Mat Berquist, 9 Jimmy Cowan (captain), 8 Steven Setephano, 7 John Hardie, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Jamie Mackintosh.
Replacements: 16. Jason Macdonald, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Joe Tuineau, 19 Tim Boys, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Jason Shoemark, 22 Fetu'u Vainikolo.

Lions: 15 Michael Killian, 14 Wigan Pekeur, 13 Walter Venter, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Carlos Spencer, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Todd Clever, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (captain), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Nico Luus, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Charles Emslie, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Willem Stoltz, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 JP Joubert, 21 Wandile Mjekevu, 22 Earl Rose.

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Kane McBride (New Zealand), Shane McDermott (New Zealand)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

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