Lionel Mapoe scored a hat-trick as the Lions mauled the Blues 43-5 victory at a rain-soaked Ellis Park on Saturday night.
Given the conditions, it was a clinical performance from the Africa 2 Conference pace-setters, who scored seven tries in all through Warren Whiteley, Courtnall Skosan, Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, Mapoe (3) and Warwick Tecklenburg.
For the Blues this was a game to forget as they didn’t recover from a nightmare start, and they remain New Zealand’s basement franchise.
Given the conditions, it was a clinical performance from the Africa 2 Conference pace-setters, who scored seven tries in all through Warren Whiteley, Courtnall Skosan, Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, Mapoe (3) and Warwick Tecklenburg.
For the Blues this was a game to forget as they didn’t recover from a nightmare start, and they remain New Zealand’s basement franchise.
It was a strange first half in Johannesburg as all of the action came in the first ten minutes, with the Lions racing out of the blocks with three tries. The Blues, missing key players Rieko and Akira Ioane due to World Rugby Sevens Series commitments, looked shell-shocked.
Whiteley crashed over the line with barely a minute on the clock after powerful carries from flanker Jaco Kriel and inside centre Van Rensburg set up the No 8 for the score. Unfortunately Jantjies was off-target with a disappointing attempt from the tee.
That did not fluster the flyhalf who then produced two moments of brilliance. The first was a well weighted cross-kick out to Skosan on the left wing for the Lions’ second try, which he then converted superbly from near the touchline for 12-0.
The next came from a lovely dink in the 22, over the top of the onrushing Blues defence, and Van Rensburg gathered for the bonus point. The deluge of points left the Blues trailing by 19 points.
Oddly the rest of the opening half brought no further points, as both sides snubbed kickable shots in favour of going for tries. It was a smart move from the Lions, who wanted breathing space with their bonus point, while the Blues needed sevens, not threes, to move in touch.
Whatever Ackermann said to his troops clearly worked as they were back to scoring tries just seven minutes after the break when Mapoe hit a wonderful line off Skosan before sliding over in the unabating rain. With Jantjies’ extras, it was 26-0 with a try count of four to zero.
Despite the healthy advantage, the Lions continued their game-plan of kicking for the corner and once again were rewarded when Tecklenburg was at the back of a driving maul for their fifth try of the game. That led to one eye turning to next week’s clash against the Jaguares.
However, the hosts did not relent in their quest for more scores and got their wish when Mapoe crashed over again on 65 minutes before the Blues finally broke their duck nine minutes later, with replacement flanker Joe Edwards showing good pace to go over.
It was fitting though that the Lions and Mapoe had the final say as he wrapped up the one-way game by claiming his hat-trick, with the home side getting back to winning ways in style, leaving the Blues with a tough flight to Perth.
Whiteley crashed over the line with barely a minute on the clock after powerful carries from flanker Jaco Kriel and inside centre Van Rensburg set up the No 8 for the score. Unfortunately Jantjies was off-target with a disappointing attempt from the tee.
That did not fluster the flyhalf who then produced two moments of brilliance. The first was a well weighted cross-kick out to Skosan on the left wing for the Lions’ second try, which he then converted superbly from near the touchline for 12-0.
The next came from a lovely dink in the 22, over the top of the onrushing Blues defence, and Van Rensburg gathered for the bonus point. The deluge of points left the Blues trailing by 19 points.
Oddly the rest of the opening half brought no further points, as both sides snubbed kickable shots in favour of going for tries. It was a smart move from the Lions, who wanted breathing space with their bonus point, while the Blues needed sevens, not threes, to move in touch.
Whatever Ackermann said to his troops clearly worked as they were back to scoring tries just seven minutes after the break when Mapoe hit a wonderful line off Skosan before sliding over in the unabating rain. With Jantjies’ extras, it was 26-0 with a try count of four to zero.
Despite the healthy advantage, the Lions continued their game-plan of kicking for the corner and once again were rewarded when Tecklenburg was at the back of a driving maul for their fifth try of the game. That led to one eye turning to next week’s clash against the Jaguares.
However, the hosts did not relent in their quest for more scores and got their wish when Mapoe crashed over again on 65 minutes before the Blues finally broke their duck nine minutes later, with replacement flanker Joe Edwards showing good pace to go over.
It was fitting though that the Lions and Mapoe had the final say as he wrapped up the one-way game by claiming his hat-trick, with the home side getting back to winning ways in style, leaving the Blues with a tough flight to Perth.
By: Farai Diza
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