When you’re in the kind of rut that the Lions have found themselves in at the start of this United Rugby Championship season, you take a win — no matter how it’s achieved — and bank the points with relief.
That was the story at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon, where the home side beat the Scarlets 29-18, securing a bonus point for scoring four tries in the process.
This was a clash between the bottom two teams in the 16-team log — and it showed in a largely forgettable encounter.
The Lions had most of the early possession, but it was the Scarlets who struck first in the 12th minute when Wales flyhalf Sam Costelow slotted a superb penalty from 40 metres out.
As the first quarter drew to a close, the industrious JC Pretorius darted over from a close-range ruck, only for the try to be disallowed due to offside at the preceding lineout. The chalked-off effort summed up the Lions’ error-strewn campaign so far.
Five minutes later, they finally got it right when a clever kick-pass from Chris Smith found Pretorius near the touchline. The flanker did brilliantly to set up Quan Horn for the opening try.
The Lions dominated territory and possession throughout the first half but were repeatedly undone by poor execution. The 5-3 halftime scoreline reflected why these two teams sit 15th and 16th on the log.
The Lions extended their narrow lead five minutes into the second half when Smith nudged over a penalty won at the breakdown by Reinhard Nothnagel.
Smith soon left the field for a head impact assessment and was replaced by Gianni Lombard, whose first meaningful contribution was to land a penalty — moments after Costelow had added his second for the visitors.
At 11-6, the Lions enjoyed one of their better passages of play this season. They won a scrum penalty, kicked to the corner, and hooker Franco Marais did what hookers do best — finishing off a powerful maul to score.
At 16-6, it seemed the Lions were finally in control, but their tendency to self-sabotage resurfaced. Darrien Landsberg was penalised for collapsing a maul, and the Scarlets were awarded a penalty try to cut the deficit.
Fortunately for the hosts, they responded swiftly. Scrumhalf Nico Steyn sparked a superb break that ended with hooker Morne Brandon diving over.
Brandon then repeated the feat six minutes from time, bagging his second try to secure the bonus point for the Lions.
Still, they couldn’t close out cleanly — allowing Welsh wing Elus Mee to score in the corner late on — but by then, the damage was done.
After a frustrating start to their URC campaign, the Lions finally had something to smile about at Ellis Park.
Scorers
Lions — Tries: Quan Horn, Franco Marais, Morne Brandon (2). Penalties: Chris Smith, Gianni Lombard (2).
Scarlets — Tries: Penalty Try, Ellis Mee. Penalties: Sam Costelow (3)
