Skosan, Simelane the big stars as Lions register first Unlocked win

With centre Wandisile Simelane in brilliant form the Lions scored their first win of the Super Rugby Unlocked competition when they smashed Griquas 61-31 at Ellis Park on Friday night.

Not only was it their first win after two defeats and a cancelled game, they were in action for the first time at home since earlier this year before Covid brought a halt to Super Rugby, and would have gained a lot of confidence before hosting the Bulls next weekend.

While the Lions scored nine tries, with captain Elton Jantjies converting eight of them, and wing Courtnall Skosan scoring a hat-trick, they also conceded a massive 28 points in the second half as Griquas found their second wind.

The Lions will be somewhat concerned after dropping their energy levels in the second half when Griquas added four tries with improved territory and possession.

The Lions fed off the confidence after going into a 28-3 halftime lead and scoring four first-half tries.

Griquas struggled to gain momentum having being outplayed by the Lions at the breakdown, conceding a mountain of penalties, while tighthead prop Carlu Sadie again impressed in the set-piece, putting a lot of heat on his direct Griquas opponent Andrew Beerwinkel, at scrum-time.

Two of the Lions’ brightest young stars, fullback Gianni Lombard and Simelane, were into the action early on when they played a decisive part in their team’s opening two tries.

First there were excellent hands by Lombard which created the space for the first try by Skosan, while a clever delayed pass by Simelane gave his centre partner Dan Kriel an open run to the tryline.

Simelane also played a major part in Skosan’s second try, while his deft off-load created the space for the other wing, Stean Pienaar, to score the Lions’ fourth five-pointer on the stroke of halftime.

The Lions however conceded four second half tries to the Griquas, the one scored by fullback James Verity-Am, who read an Elton Jantjies cross-kick perfectly, a high point.

Discipline let the visitors from Kimberley down early on and they were far from the side that pushed the Bulls to the edge just two weeks ago. While they did well to get back into the contest in the second half, they will have to learn to play high-tempo rugby from the off if they’re to stay in touch with the big boys of the competition. The Lions, for their part, are on the board and they’ll take plenty of confidence from the clash.

Scorers

Lions: Tries: Courtnall Skosan (3), Dan Kriel, Stean Pienaar, MJ Pelser, Jaco Visagie, Wandile Simelane, Reinhard Nothnagel, conversions: Jantjies (8).

Griquas: Tries: Zak Burger, HJ Luus, James Verity-Am, Tinus de Beer, conversions: Whitehead (4), penalties: Whitehead (1) .

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