Nutshell: Off-colour Lions rely on guts in Canberra

The Lions didn’t play much rugby in Canberra on Friday but still managed to beat the Brumbies 13-6.

Johan Ackermann’s troops were indebted to a try off turnover possession and in general relied on magnificent defence to squeeze out a win, meaning they end their Australian tour unbeaten.

It was hardly pretty but effective.

Who was the star in this match?

Lions lock Franco Mostert is arguably now one of the most valuable players in this year’s tournament. He was a tower in the line-outs, notably poaching three balls off a Brumbies throw-in. The rangy forward also made a massive 14 tackles without missing a single one as well as making one turnover too. Sterling stuff.

Key themes and events

• The Lions were nowhere in the first 40 minutes. They were starved of possession and we strangely off-colour on the attack when they did have the ball, especially in terms of decision-making.
• It was to be the theme for the rest of the game as the Brumbies continued to make all the play. However, Australia’s top side also showed the cracks in their conference. With all that ball, Stephen Larkham’s side essentially did nothing. They made 24 handling errors and conceded a fair amount of penalties for a side in the ascendancy.
• That said, the home side did miss out on a try early on when winger James Dargaville went over. But the TMO saw a handling error in the build-up to the score.
• The Lions’ winning score was off turnover possession when Lionel Mapoe picked up a wayward pass and fed Kwagga Smith, who showed searing pace to score.
• After that, the men from Johannesburg settled in again to make their tackles and repel the Brumbies. They made 136 tackles and only missed 16. It was truly gutsy.

Point scorers

Lions – Try: Kwagga Smith. Conversion: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Andries Coetzee, Jantjies.

Brumbies – Penalties: Wharenui Hawera (2).

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