Lions v Glasgow: Five takeaways as URC dark horse ‘thrash’ Warriors with Springboks hopeful ‘laying down a marker’ in statement victory
Lions star Ruan Venter (INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Willem Loock/EPCR) and an inset of Glasgow's Dan Lancaster
Following the Lions’ remarkable eight-try, 54-12 victory over the Glasgow Warriors, here are our five takeaways from the United Rugby Championship encounter.
Top line
A joyous occasion at Ellis Park for the Lions as Ivan van Rooyen’s charges put league leaders, the Glasgow Warriors, to the sword in an impressive performance akin to the ones that spurred the Joburgers to Super Rugby finals in years gone by.
The men in red were brutally effective at the breakdown, electric in attack, and ruthlessly ran in eight tries to strengthen their bid for a place in the United Rugby Championship knockouts, a stage they have yet to reach in the first four seasons in the competition, and lay down a marker that this season is different.
Franco Smith may have made nine changes to his starting lineup for the encounter at Ellis Park but this Glasgow team was still brimming with quality throughout the matchday 23. However, they were no match for a Lions team that had spent the past 10 days licking their lips in preparation and the hard work paid off.
Henco van Wyk scored a 20-minute brace, running sharp lines inside the Warriors’ 22 to score either side of Erich Cronje’s try in the ninth minute as the hosts came rampaging out of the blocks.
Dan Lancaster opened the visitors’ account in the 30th minute, but the Lions would have the final say of the first half as props Asenathi Ntlabakanye and SJ Kotze combined brilliantly with the latter sending the hosts into the break with a bonus point in the bag.
Ruan Venter strolled over the line in the 43rd minute to ensure the momentum from the first 40 carried over into the second and while Stafford McDowall hit back for Glasgow, that would be the Scottish outfit’s final contribution to the scoreboard.
With the altitude seemingly seeping in, the Lions pounced with the brilliant Morne van den Berg grabbing his side’s sixth of the game before Sibabalwe Mahashe got in on the action as the final five-pointer belonged to Quan Horn, who finished off a stunning 100-metre score.
Breakdown battering
There was so much good about this Lions’ performance, but the area where they really had the upper hand was at the breakdown as they repeatedly repelled the Glasgow Warriors’ attack through winning turnovers, forcing errors, and stifling the speed of their attack.
This is highlighted in the numbers, with Glasgow actually dominating possession at 62%, but the Scottish side managed just five line breaks, conceded nine turnovers, and 12 penalties.
The Lions doubled their opponents’ line breaks, won 10 turnovers (conceding 13), and were the more disciplined side, conceding eight penalties all game.
While the likes of Venter and Mahashe were up to their usual tricks at the breakdown, it was a real team effort with Cronje and PJ Botha pitching in with two turnovers apiece, with five of their teammates claiming once apiece.
It was a masterclass in how to brutally attack at the breakdown, effectively and efficiently, and that translated to the attack, too, where Van Rooyen’s side made 12 entries into the Glasgow 22 and averaged 4.5 points per visit, a sensational return that the Warriors have often produced, but today their average sat at a meagre 1.7 for their seven entries.
Ruan Venter lays down Springboks marker amid injury crisis
Rassie Erasmus is contending with a possible tighthead lock crisis as the Springboks’ international season draws nearer, with Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman currently sidelined. The former pair may recover in time for the start of the season; the latter won’t. Either way, Erasmus needs to make alternative plans in a position where he stated they were short before the injuries occurred.
One of the names he put forward was JJ van der Mescht, who has subsequently earned an invite to the Springbok alignment camps; the other is Ruan Venter. The Lions star has played the majority of his senior rugby in the back row, but has the height, grunt, and lineout ability to slip into the locks, which he has done for his franchise.
In the week that news broke of Etzebeth’s injury, Venter has shot his hand up for selection with a barnstorming performance in the red jersey against the top-ranked team in the United Rugby Championship and a side renowned for their strength up front.
The 23-year-old was stationed in the blindside flanker role but the sheer workload he got through and the manner in which he dominated contact on both sides of the ball will have really impressed the Bok coaching team. He was effective at the breakdown too, pinching a crucial turnover which resulted in a try before the half-time break.
He pitched in with a try too, and frankly, the Bok coaches won’t have cared too much what number was on his back but rather his overall performance, which was simply sensational as he regularly dominated contact on both sides of the ball. He will surely be in the mix for the number four jersey as he aims to add to his single Test cap, but another positive is that he could easily play flank too, allowing for Pieter-Steph du Toit, if he is fit in time too, to slot into the second row.
He was not alone, though, as he was ably assisted by his brilliant back-rower partners Francke Horn and the ridiculously talented Sibabalwe Mahashe.
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Glasgow’s form dips at the wrong time
After swatting off all those who stood in their way in December last year, racking up nine victories on the trot, the new year hasn’t been as kind to Glasgow Warriors as they have now won just three of their last six encounters. It’s hardly time to start panicking, but one of those defeats saw them exit the Investec Champions Cup while the other two have seen their stronghold on top spot in the URC slip.
They will retain the top ranking for at least another week, thanks largely to the Stormers’ implosion against Connacht in Cape Town in the earlier kick-off, but it’s quickly becoming squeaky bum time for Franco Smith’s men.
And the Warriors boss knows it as he admitted that the team is enduring a slip in form, compared to what transpired prior to the Six Nations.
“We know that to be in the top four is going to be important, and to finish top is obviously the mission,” he told PA earlier this week.
“But we don’t want to look too much at the table; we look at the challenge in front of us. We do not want to be distracted about what can go wrong.
“We want to focus on what we have to get right. I would like to see us reaching the form we had before the Six Nations as a collective. That is the focus.”
A bounce back against the Stormers next weekend is crucial, and then hopefully a full-stocked outfit will be back for the home game against Cardiff and a trip to Belfast to face Ulster.
Glasgow have won this tournament the hard way before, beating the Bulls at Loftus in the final, but Smith will be eager to make their route to the Grand Final as comfortable as possible, but do the Warriors have enough in the tank to ensure that is a possibility?
A word for the front rowers as the Lions continue their play-off bid
For all the brilliance of Man of the Match Van Wyk and flanker Venter, who have done their international hopes a world of good, a word must be reserved for props Ntlabakanye and Kotze.
The front rowers are often overlooked for individual awards but never undervalued by their teammates and particularly not today as the duo enjoyed performances for the ages. Kotze added to his ever-growing highlight reel that will sure be titled ‘I’m a centre stuck in a prop’s body’ as he ran an excellent line off the shoulder of Ntlabakanye to score and repeated the trick off a Venter offload to slice through Glasgow like prime Brian O’Driscoll. His influence extended to his defensive and scrum efforts to too. At 23 years old, he is certainly one to keep an eye on, not that he will make it difficult for you to do so.
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His propping partner was just as impactful but took a far more direct approach, as he, time and time again, took two or more Glasgow defenders with him as he powered over the gain line while being dominant in the scrums.
All in all, it was a remarkable team performance for the Lions as they moved up to FOURTH in the league standings and extended their run of unbeaten matches in the United Rugby Championship to NINE.
The Lions have threatened to become the dark horse of this tournament since its inception, but this season they are living up to their billing. Next up, it’s Connacht who will visit Ellis Park in the Lions’ final home game of the regular season before Cash’s men tackle the mighty Leinster in Dublin and Munster at Thomond Park. It’s a tough end to their campaign but after thrashing the league leaders today, who would bet against them?