Lions v Connacht: Five takeaways as one-Test Springbok ‘shows his class’ in hosts’ win which enhances their home play-off hopes
Connacht skipper Cian Prendergast (inset) and Lions full-back Quan Horn.
Following the Lions’ 33-21 over Connacht in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
The home side continued with their excellent recent form as they clinched a victory, and they did it in style by outscoring their opponents by five tries to three.
Two well-taken tries from Angelo Davids and Henco van Wyk, which were both converted by Chris Smith, gave the Lions a 14-0 lead midway through the opening half.
Connacht were more competitive during the rest of the half but the hosts finished stronger and just before half-time Siba Mahashe crossed for another five-pointer and with Smith adding the extras again, the Lions had their tails up with the score 21-0 in their favour at the break.
Another converted try from Erich Cronje soon after the restart secured the Lions’ try-scoring bonus-point but Connacht struck back when Matthew Devine crossed the whitewash in the 48th minute.
The next 20 minutes was an arm wrestle and neither sides scored points during that period but the match came alive in its dying moments when Van Wyk sealed his side’s win with his second try in the 71st minute.
Late tries from Devine and Paul Boyle added some respectability to the full-time score for the visitors but the Lions were deserved winners in the end.
Connacht brought back down to earth
After displaying excellent form in the URC in recent weeks, following successive victories over Zebre-Parma, Glasgow Warriors, the Scarlets, Ulster, the Ospreys and the Stormers, Connacht came into this fixture brimming with confidence.
Those victories put Stuart Lancaster’s men in the play-off picture as they had moved up to ninth position in the URC standings and although they made 10 changes to their starting line-up, they fancied their chances of following up their upset victory with another win against the odds in Johannesburg.
It wasn’t to be, however, as the Lions held the upper-hand from the outset and continued to dominate as the match progressed, eventually securing their bonus-point early in the second half.
To their credit, Connacht did not surrender and launched a brave fightback with the likes of captain Cian Prendergast and Sam Gilbert leading the way but, in the end, it was not enough to haul in their hosts.
It was always going to be a tough assignment away from home – especially after making so many alterations to their starting line-up – but Connacht will be kicking themselves that they did not manage to come away from this clash with at least a losing bonus-point and this result means they are still in ninth spot in the standings, one place adrift of the play-offs.
Quan Horn shows his class
Although there were several outstanding individual performances from the home side’s players, one-Test Springbok Quan Horn deserves special praise as he led the charge for his team.
The home side’s full-back came to the fore with an excellent all-round display as he was solid under the ball and gave his side good momentum with several barnstorming runs from the back.
The 24-year-old’s brilliance on attack kept his opponents on their toes for the full 80 minutes and his class was best illustrated in the 71st minute when he delivered an outrageous offload – out of the back of his hand – to the on-rushing Van Wyk, who crashed over for his second try.
Horn, who walked off with the official man-of-the-match award after the game, made his only appearance for the Springboks against Portugal in Bloemfontein in 2024 but he has been in fine form for the Lions throughout this season and display against Connacht was a timely reminder of his ability to Boks boss Rassie Erasmus.
Some Lions players enhance their Springbok chances
The Lions are a side with several exciting players in their ranks and they have shown consistency in their play this season which was lacking in previous campaigns.
While the likes of Morné van den Berg, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Quan Horn and Ruan Venter have been rewarded with call-ups to Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus’ squad in recent years, there are some uncapped internationals in the Johannesburg-based outfit who caught the eye in this clash with excellent performances.
Leading the way was exciting outside centre Van Wyk, who impressed with a superb attacking performance and his efforts were rewarded with a brace of tries. Van Wyk’s first try was an outstanding individual effort in which he gathered the ball close to the halfway line before beating three defenders on his way over the whitewash.
He also crossed for his second try late on and eventually made two line breaks while also impressing on defence, where he completed 10 tackles.
Meanwhile, the Lions’ loose trio of captain Francke Horn, Batho Hlekani and Mahashe also showed that they could do a job for the Boks in the Test arena as they combined briliantly in this encounter.
Horn caught the eye with a super all-round display as he combined brilliantly with his backs on attack, while former SA U20 star Hlekani impressed with his physicality on both sides of the ball, and Mahashe, who scored his try after good support play, was superb at the breakdowns.
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Lions close to clinching a home play-off
This victory is an important one for Ivan van Rooyen’s troops as they have now won six matches in a row at home following previous triumphs against the Sharks, Stormers, Edinburgh, the Dragons and Glasgow Warriors.
That means they currently occupy third spot in the standings – although they can drop down to fourth spot if Leinster beat Benetton later on Saturday – with 53 points amassed from 16 matches played.
The Lions have already delivered their best-ever performance during a URC campaign and their 10 victories so far is the most ever during a season.
They now head overseas where they face tough assignments against Leinster and Munster but if they can secure back-to-back victories in those fixtures and other results go their way, they should secure a home quarter-final.