Stean Pienaar of the Xerox Lions during the Currie Cup semi final match between Xerox Golden Lions XV and Tafel Lager Griquas at Emirates Airline Park on August 31, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Johan Rynners/Gallo Images)
The Golden Lions made the most of home advantage after beating Griquas 34-19 in a tough Currie Cup semifinal at Ellis Park on Saturday, in the process booking their first final since 2015.
Despite leading 21-13 at the break and scoring three first-half tries, Ivan van Rooyen’s troops never really managed to run away with matters as the visitors, especially with their trade-mark rolling mauls and a strong performance at scrum-time, ensured the Lions could never quite relax.
But it was revealing how the Lions produced their best performance to date in this year’s competition while still firing on all cylinders.
That actually bodes well for next week’s climax.
Who was the star in this match?
Former Blue Bulls wing Duncan Matthews was very good at inside centre for the Lions, creating headaches on defence for Griquas throughout the game. Apart from a sniping break early in the first half, where he burst though a gaping hole in midfield, he was also the key role player in the Lions second try scored by wing Stean Pienaar when he cleverly delayed his pass to open up the space. That type of game-breaking ability could prove very useful.
Key moments and themes
Point scorers:
Golden Lions – Tries: Madosh Tambwe, Stean Pienaar, Hacjivah Dayimani, Marnus Schoeman. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (4). Penalties: Reynolds (2).
Griquas – Try: Chris Smit. Conversion: George Whitehead. Penalties: Whitehead (4).
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