The Lions have spectacularly revived their hopes of qualifying for the United Rugby Championship playoffs by thumping the out-of-sorts Sharks 38-14 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
It was the Lions’ third victory consecutive victory over the Sharks in the URC, and the bonus-point win reaped them five precious log points.
They had started the day in 12th, and by the end of the weekend’s action, they will have climbed a place or two.
The Sharks went into the game knowing that if they won and backed it up against the same team next week in Durban, the SA Shield would be theirs for the first time.
The SA Shield is awarded to the local team that harvest the most log points from SA derbies, and the Sharks had won three out of four.
But those ambitions pretty much ended when the Lions had a dream start to the game, going 14-0 up after 15 minutes.
The Lions players had spoken during the week about having a strong start, and they got it. The quick-fire 14 points were vital because they were scored before heavy rain began to fall.
But the weather conditions ultimately did not matter to the Lions because they would have a plethora of opportunities, thanks to a magnificent performance by their pack of forwards.
Their Sharks counterparts were bullied backward all afternoon, and that made their dangerous backline largely unemployed.
It was Morne van den Berg who put the Sharks under early pressure with clever kicking into space, and by the seventh minute, hooker PJ Botha had barrelled over.
Not long after, flyhalf Gianni Lombard kicked a long penalty to the corner, and the pressure from the Lions’ maul soon had captain and No 8 Francke Horn smashing over.
The off-colour Sharks had their ardour further damped when the rain came down.
A torrent of penalties against the Durbanites made their task all the harder. Two of those penalties were shots at goal, but Lombard sent them wayward.
Emirates @LionsRugbyCo are on 🔥
They lead by 1️⃣4️⃣#LIOvSHA | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/shagw1f6Xi
Lions flank JC Pretorius had a field day at the breakdowns, although some of his turnovers were dubiously won.
Matters deteriorated further for the visitors when prop Ntuthuko Mchunu was yellow-carded after some rough and tumble at a collapsed maul, and three minutes before halftime, wing Edwill van der Merwe raced through gap a to score a superb try.
It was 19-0 at halftime, and the Sharks would have got a rocket from coach John Plumtree after failing to score a single point in 40 minutes.
Like a hot knife 😰
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) March 1, 2025
Edwill scores the Emirates @LionsRugbyCo 3️⃣rd unanswered try!#LIOvSHA | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/7soTQTsQh4
The sun broke out at the start of the second half, but it brought no change in fortune for the Sharks.
They conceded a penalty at the kickoff, and from the resulting lineout maul, winger Richard Kriel finished well in the corner for the bonus-point try.
The avalanche of penalties against the Sharks continued, and there would be 11 of them by the 55th minute.
BONUS POINT TRY 🦁
— vodacomrugby (@VodacomRugga) March 1, 2025
The Emirates @LionsRugbyCo are running away with it - can the Hollywoodbets @SharksRugby pull it back? 🤔#LIOvSHA | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/idNKRLWorL
At this point, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi came on, but he battled to change things around, and in the 60th minute, centre Jurenzo Julius was binned for a deliberate offside near his line.
Lions flank Jarod Cairns then scored from the lineout maul.
The Lions saved their best for last when Lombard finished off slick interplay by a number of players.
Absolute filth from the Emirates @LionsRugbyCo 🤤#LIOvSHA | @Vodacom #URC | #OriginRound pic.twitter.com/D4qkQxYNio
The Sharks finished with a flourish, with tries by Ethan Hooker and Kolisi, but it was too little way too late.
Points-Scorers
Lions 38 – Tries: PJ Botha, Francke Horn, Edwill van der Merwe, Richard Kriel, Jarod Cairns, Gianni Lombard. Conversions: Lombard (4).
Sharks 14 – Tries: Ethan Hooker, Siya Kolisi. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (2).