Lion’s whitewash Stormers

Lions top of the log after their win on Saturday.

SCORING TIME: Emirates Lions' young winger Madosh Tambwe scored four tries during the Super Rugby match between the Emirates Lions and the DHL Stormers at Emirates Airline Park. Photo Gordon Arons/Gallo Images.

A young winger by the name of Madosh Tambwe scored four tries to help steer the Emirates Lions to a comprehensive 52-31 Vodacom Super Rugby win over the DHL Stormers on April 7 in Johannesburg.

On Friday morning the Cell C Sharks suffered a heart-breaking 38-37 loss to the Hurricanes in Napier after they conceded a converted try in the fourth minute after the final hooter. Although the coastal side can be very proud of their outstanding effort, they will be disappointed at their failure to close out the match.

SCORE HERE: Head coach of the Emirates Lions Swys de Bruin warming up his players during the Super Rugby match between the Emirates Lions and the DHL Stormers
Photo: Gordon Arons/Gallo Image.

The Vodacom Bulls, who defeated the DHL Stormers in last week’s derby clash in Pretoria, had a bye over the weekend. Meanwhile in the remaining South African Conference match played last night in Buenos Aires, the Jaguares went down 40-14 to the Crusaders.

The Emirates Lions put a difficult few weeks behind them with Saturday’s outstanding performance against the Cape side, who struggled to match their forward dominance and pace on attack. They increased their points tally to 25 at the top of the South African conference, eleven points more than the second-placed Cell C Sharks while the DHL Stormers are now twelve points behind the local log leaders.

Twenty-year-old Tambwe scored a blitzkrieg 13-minute hat-trick of tries as the Highveld team raced into a comfortable early lead against their Cape rivals. He scored his fourth shortly after the restart before leaving the field because of a leg injury. His outstanding individual performance landed him the Man of the Match accolade.

The Gauteng outfit suffered home defeats against the Blues and the Crusaders, but they bounced back in splendid fashion against the visitors who fell to their second successive away loss on the Highveld. Springbok wing Ruan Combrinck celebrated his return from a long injury spell by grabbing one of the hosts’ other eight tries. The win comes as a timely boost for their four away matches against Australian and New Zealand opponents.

Leading by nine points with just three minutes to play on the clock, the Cell C Sharks conceded a penalty and then a last-gasp converted try which condemned them to a cruel loss to the Canes.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Emirates Lions’ flank Kwagga Smith during the Super Rugby match between the Emirates Lions and the DHL Stormers.
Photo Gordon Arons/Gallo Images.

The match was a thrilling affair and the side from Durban was in control for a big part of the game thanks to some excellent attacking play, good defence and accurate kicking from flyhalf Robert du Preez, who contributed 17 points with the boot.

Ruan Botha’s team fully deserved their 27-19 half-time lead but they did concede a lot of penalties in the second stanza as the Hurricanes came back fighting. With replacement hooker Franco Marais off the field with a yellow card, centre Ngani Lamaupi went over for the deciding try in the last movement of the match to grab the win for a jubilant home side.

The two sides scored four tries each in a high-tempo match.

In next weekend’s Round 9 fixtures, the Cell C Sharks entertain the Vodacom Bulls in Durban on Saturday, while the DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Crusaders each have a bye.