JOHANNESBURG – The Lions is without doubt the surprise package in the 2014 Vodacom Super Rugby.
The local franchise from Johannesburg dished out a rugby lesson to DHL Stormers, when they whisked them off with a beating of 34-10 in the second round of the Super Rugby fixtures.
Their first win over DHL Stormers in 10 attempts.
The match took place on Saturday February 22 at Ellis Park.
From the worde go the Lions put pressure on the Caledonians, only to find themselves in front after a few minutes, when Stefan Watermeyer dotted down and Marnitz Boshoff converted.
Lions flyhalf, Boshoff, Man of the Match, once again showed his value when he added his personal best of 29 points reaching the 50 points mark after two matches. He scored 21 points against Toyota Cheetahs in the first match.
His three drop-goals against the DHL Stormers also meant Boshoff joined a special group of only three players who have achieved this feat previously – Morné Steyn scored four for the Vodacom Bulls against the Crusaders in 2009, while Louis Koen (Vodacom Bulls vs Cats in 2003) and Andrew Mehrtens (Crusaders vs Highlanders in 1998) both slotted three drops each.
Boshoff’s efforts in the last two weekends is one of the fastest season fifties in the history of the game in South Africa, but it will take some doing to better the record held by Gavin Lawless, who scored 50 points in the opening match for the Sharks against the Highlanders in 1997.
“He trained very hard and under the auspices of coach Johan Ackermann, who believed in me, I could up my game. This is also a position I like to play in, but most of all this is also a team effort,” said Boshoff after the match. About the drop goals, if they trained for it, he said, “It all depends on the situation and if I can take a chance we could explore in that way.”
“If the other teams would be out to counter Boshoff, it makes way for us to play running rugby,” said Head coach Johann Ackermann.
According to both captain of DHL Stormers, Jean de Villiers, “We didn’t play well at all and it is back to the drawing board for us, we can’t play like this the rest of the season.”
This coming weekend the Lions face Vodacom Bulls in their last South African derby. The match will be played at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday March 1. The kick-off is at: 17:05.
Scorers:
Lions – Try: Stefan Watermeyer. Conversion: Marnitz Boshoff. Penalty goals: Boshoff (6). Drop goals: Boshoff (3).
DHL Stormers – Try: Scarra Ntubeni. Conversion: Demetri Catrakilis. Penalty goal: Catrakilis.
On Friday evening, the Toyota Cheetahs turned around an 11-match losing streak against the Vodacom Bulls for their first-ever win over the team from Pretoria in this competition. It wasn’t pretty and the conditions were dire, but the side from Central South Africa would not have been too bothered by that as they won 15-9.
Saturday afternoon saw the Cell C Sharks dismantle a spirited Hurricanes side by 27-9 in Durban.
