Lions v Dragons: Five takeaways as hosts’ triumph puts them in ‘unfamiliar territory’ in URC play-off race
Lions scrum-half Nico Steyn and Dragons number eight Aaron Wainwright (inset).
Following the Lions’ 42-26 over the Dragons 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
This was an thrilling encounter with both sides deserving credit for making it the entertaining spectacle that it was.
As the scoreline suggests, the Lions were deserved winners but it was not one-way traffic as the Dragons gave a good account of themselves and were competitive for long periods until they ran out of steam in the final quarter.
After Sibabalwe Mahashe and Angus O’Brien traded early tries, the Lions took control of proceedings via a Chris Smith penalty and a converted try from Richard Kriel.
The visitors struck back with a converted Aneurin Owen five-pointer before Smith succeeded with another three-pointer off the kicking tee which meant the Lions held an 18-14 lead at half-time.
The Dragons were fastest out of the blocks after the interval as a Rio Dyer try saw them taking the lead but the hosts did not panic and came roaring back as tries from Smith, Nico Steyn (2) and Erich Cronje meant they held a 42-21 lead by the 67th minute.
Another Dyer try added some respectability to the full-time score for the Dragons but in the end, the Lions clinched a deserved win.
Nico Steyn grabs his chance for the Lions
The Lions suffered a setback in the build-up to this match when they lost the services of Springboks scrum-half Morne van den Berg to a leg injury.
Van den Berg is the men from Johannesburg’s first choice number nine, but his absence meant Nico Steyn was elevated to the run-on side and he took his opportunity with both hands as he played a leading role for the Lions.
Apart from providing a slick service to his outside backs, the 23-year-old also varied his play superbly as he impressed with his kicking out of hand and he also caught the eye with clever offloads to his forwards which gave their side good momentum.
Steyn also ran good support lines on attack and he crossed for two well-taken tries in the second half after running on the shoulders of his forwards.
His efforts were rewarded after the game when he received the official man-of-the-match award.
Aaron Wainwright shows his class
After being one of Wales’ star players during their recent Six Nations campaign, Wainwright made his long-awaited return for the Dragons in this encounter and he certainly made his presence felt with a superb all-round performance.
As usual, the 28-year-old was in the thick of the action from the outset, and he emptied the tank on defence and attack for the full 80 minutes.
Playing at number eight, Wainwright took the fight to the Lions with some powerful runs and it was not surprising when he finished this encounter with a match-high 13 carries made.
One of those carries came early in the second half when he made a superb 40-metre linebreak before trading passes with Dyer and Wainwright was eventually brought to ground deep inside the Lions’ 22.
The Dragons recycled the ball quickly but the hosts scrambled on defence and that got them out of jail at a crucial stage of the match as the visitors were holding a 21-18 lead at the time and another try for them could have changed the complexion of the match.
Apart from shining on attack and defence, Wainwright also made his presence felt at the breakdown battle and the Dragons will surely miss him when he leaves them to join PREM Rugby outfit Leicester Tigers next season.
Lions victory strengthens their play-off hopes
This result means the Lions’ impressive run in the URC continues and they are now on a four-match winning streak in the tournament after also beating the Sharks, Stormers and Edinburgh in their previous games.
The victory puts the Johannesburg-based outfit in a strong position in the URC standings, and they provisionally move into fourth spot in the 16-team competition, although they can be overtaken by Ulster if they manage to beat Zebre Parma later on Saturday.
Regardless of that result, the worst position the Lions can be in is fifth in the table at the completion of the weekend’s round of matches.
This is very much unfamiliar territory for them as they have never qualified for the URC play-offs with their best finish in the league phase of the tournament being ninth position, which they attained in both the 2022/23 and 2023/2024 seasons.
The Lions’ play-off ambitions will face a stern test when they return to URC action against the table-topping Glasgow Warriors on April 18.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
Dragons’ ill discipline proves costly
Although the Lions were deserved winners in the end, things did not always go their way as the Welsh region put up a brave fight before a costly yellow card had a big impact on the end result.
That occurred shortly after Steyn went over for his first try in the 55th minute when referee Robbie Jenkinson sent Dyer to the sin bin for repeated indiscretions by the visitors on defence close to their try-line.
It came after Jenkinson had given the Dragons several warnings prior to that, and although the Lions were rewarded with Steyn’s five-pointer, the match official had to make an example of Dyer in a bid to lay down the law.
Dyer’s absence was soon exploited by the home side as Steyn crossed for his second try while the Dragons speedster was on the sidelines and by the time he returned, the Lions were in control of proceedings with the score 37-21 in their favour, which made it virtually impossible for the visitors to overtake them in the game’s closing stages.