Brave but wayward Lions slump to a hat-trick of tour defeats

Rudolph Jacobs

The Lions put up a brave fight in staging a fine comeback but still finished their Super Rugby away leg with a third straight loss, going down 39-27 to the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday.

The Highlanders, who scored five tries against the Lions’ four,  had to rely on two late penalties by flyhalf Lima Sopoaga to cement their frail lead of 33-27, allowing for some breathing space.

The Lions were guilty of standing too deep on defence, allowing the Highlanders speed off the ball while the hosts’ uncanny ability to pounce on the visitors spilling the ball in contact were two big reasons for Lions’ loss.

After missing 13 from 29 tackles in the opening 20 minutes, the Lions tightened up considerably after conceding three early tries.

Who was the star in this game?

Lions No 8 Kwagga Smith was a massive presence again and the amount of work he gets through is simply incredible. He played a vital role in the Lions’ first try by centre Harold Vorster, doing making the hard yards before flyhalf Elton Jantjies cleverly delayed his pass to create the hole for Vorster.

Key moments of the game

* Highlanders flyhalf Lima Sopoaga scored the first try of the game in the fourth minute after Lions lock Marvin Orie stole a lineout ball. But then, frustratingly, scrumhalf Nic Groom’s box kick was stormed down. It was a sign of things to come.

* The home team surged ahead with two further scores, both a result of the Lions being dominated at the gainline and missing tackles.

*The Lions threatened a revival with two tries in the four minutes before halftime through Vorster and the first of two maul tries by hooker Robbie Coetzee. The stand-in No 2 for the injured Malcolm Marx  showed great composure in holding on to possession.

*Two fairly soft tries by Highlanders wing Waisake Noholo and centre Tei Walden killed off the Lions’ brave fightback, who never gave up the fight but simply didn’t show enough composure to keep themselves truly in the game.

Point Scorers

Highlanders – Tries: Lima Sopoaga, Liam Coltman, Luke Whitelock, Waisake Naholo, Tei Walden. Conversions: Sopoaga (4). Penalties: Sopoaga (2).

Lions – Tries: Harold Vorster, Robbie Coetzee (2), Marnus Schoeman. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalty: Jantjies.