Lions not surprised by Swanepoel’s big kicking boot
Five penalties, one from around 65 metres, by the young fullback helped the Joburg side reignite their Currie Cup campaign.
Young Lions fullback Tiaan Swanepoel has grabbed the attention of the rugby public following his strong performances for the Lions in recent months. Picture: Getty Images
The big kicking performance by debutant fullback Tiaan Swanepoel against Western Province at Ellis Park on Saturday didn’t surprise “relieved” Lions coach Cash van Rooyen.
Swanepoel – ironically a former Province player – landed the winning penalty in the dying seconds to help the Lions overturn a 19-9 deficit to win the game 22-19. They scored an unanswered 13 points in the last 15 minutes to get their Currie Cup campaign back on track.
It was the brilliant kicking performance by Swanepoel – who kicked five from six penalties for 15 points, including one kick that was in the region of 65 metres – that ultimately proved the difference for the Lions.
“We know what Tiaan can do with his boot. He kicked about a 70m kick in training the other day,” said Van Rooyen. “So we knew that we had a big weapon in him.”
Captain Elton Jantjies also deserves credit for handing over the kicking duties to Swanepoel, said Van Rooyen.
“It was a great decision by Elton to go there early in the game. We knew distance-wise Tiaan had it in him, and it was a nice BMT shown by him,” he said.
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It was, however, also the great solo tap-and-go try by wing Stean Pienaar that got the Lions back into the contest at 19-19 with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.
“It was good for Stean to take that opportunity; you want to be as unpredictable as possible,” said Van Rooyen.
“But, it was truly a 23-man effort. The guys really dug deep in the last 10 minutes; we were desperate to get a result. It was also a nice reward for the guys who have been working really hard, putting the time and the hours in,” he said.
Jantjies said he was confident throughout the match that his team would pull off the win.
“There were a lot of building blocks put in place to win the game, but the important thing was to stay patient,” he said.
The Lions are next up against the Cheetahs, at 4.30pm this Saturday.
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