Lions showcase young blood

Lions bags a win against Jaguares.

SCORING MACHINE: Elton Jantjies contributed 17 points to the team to become the fifth player in tournament’s history to surpass the 1 000 points mark. Photo: Gordon Arons

Young blood is what you need to get back on track – and a good display of young talent helped Emirates Lions beat Jaguares at home in their Vodacom Super Rugby fixture.

The match took place on March 9 at Emirates Airlines Park.

Head coach Swys de Bruin gave his young players, who came through the Lions structure, a chance to show off what they were made of. It paid off. The Lions beat the Jaguares 47-39 in their Super Rugby clash on Saturday.

It can also be said that it was a game of two halves, with senior players laying the foundation for victory in the first half. De Bruin endorsed his entire bench to get on the pitch to take over in the second half.

A feast of tries was the order of the day to the delight of the home crowd.

At the outset, Lions did not let Jaguares to play their fine attacking game, pinning them in their half most of the times. However, whenever Jaguares managed to get in the Lions’ 22m area, they scored easily.

The local franchise also let in a few tries towards the end of their match, which unfortunately cost them their bonus point.

The Jaguares scored six tries, four of them in the last 15 minutes, compared to the seven by the Vodacom Super Rugby runners-up from the last three seasons.

Rhyno Herbst, Elton Jantjies, Kwagga Smith and former Junior Bok star, Wandisile Simelane, crossed the chalk in the first half, while Marnus Schoeman and Courtnall Skosan (two) added to the tally shortly after the break.

Elton Jantjies contributed 17 points to the team to become the fifth player in the tournament’s history to surpass the 1 000 points mark.

In the meantime, Vodacom Bulls completed a clean sweep of local derby wins with their comprehensive 37-14 triumph over Cell C Sharks in their Vodacom Super Rugby clash on Saturday evening in Pretoria.

Other round four results are:

March 8

Hurricanes 25, Highlanders 22

Rebels 29, Brumbies 26

March 9

Crusaders 57, Chiefs 28

Blues 28, Sunwolves 20

Waratahs 28, Reds 17