Lions clinch nail-biting affair

The Emirates Lions clinched their Vodacom SuperRugby match against the Brumbies on May 19 in a nail-biting affair.

The Lions played hosts to the Brumbies at Emirates Airlines Park in front of more than 14 000 spectators but didn’t have it all their way. They defeated the Brumbies 42-24, with Springbok flyhalf Elton Jantjies victorious in his landmark 100th appearance for the Lions side. He is the first Lions player to achieve this in the SuperRugby series. In 2017 he did make his 100th appearance as a player in SuperRugby but played a few matches for the Stormers.

Both sides were adamant to win this encounter and the Lions could only pull away from the Brumbies deep into the last 20 minutes of the match. Franco Mostert’s Highvelders led 21-17 at half-time and they eventually scored six tries in total, with Centurion Jantjies landing all the conversions, while the visiting Brumbies replied with three tries. The timely bonus point-win enabled them to extend their lead atop of the SA Conference table.

In the only other Vodacom Super Rugby match played in South Africa this weekend, the Cell C Sharks managed to beat the visiting Chiefs 28-24 in an exciting encounter in Durban, while in Saturday’s late-night action in Buenos Aires the Vodacom Bulls lost 54-24 to the in-form Jaguares.

The resurgent Sunwolves stunned the DHL Stormers 26-23 in their Saturday morning clash played in searing heat in Hong Kong, with the winning points coming from a dramatic last-gasp drop goal.

Following the weekend’s action, the Emirates Lions increased their SA Conference tally to 36 points. The Jaguares claimed sole second spot as a result of their fifth win in a row. The Argentina franchise has 29 points, but they have played one match fewer than the Highvelders’ 13 games. The Cell C Sharks are currently sitting third on 28 points and are followed by the Vodacom Bulls and DHL Stormers (24).

Other Round 14 results of the weekend:

May 18

Hurricanes 38, Reds 34

May 19

Blues 24, Crusaders 32

Waratahs 41, Highlanders 12

Bye: Rebels

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