Lions v Leinster: Five takeaways as ‘Gunne shots fired’ in Johannesburg but ‘mischief-making’ wingers have decisive say
Leinster's Fintan Gunne and, inset, Lions' Erich Cronje lit up Ellis Park with their try scoring exploits
Following a 27-26 win for the Lions over reigning champions Leinster in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Ellis Park on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the opening round action in Johannesburg.
The top line
Seventeen weeks after 49 points separated these teams in a lopsided URC quarter-final in Dublin, this rematch in the 25°C heat of South Africa resulted in the tables being turned on Leinster.
Roared on by Fintan Gunne’s first-half hat-trick, Leo Cullen’s young side had a two-point lead heading into the second half, but they went on to be held scoreless until the final play as the drawbacks of playing at altitude took their toll.
To their immense credit, though, they rustled up a superb response to finding themselves 27-19 down after Kelly Mpeku’s late try.
Instead, of just rolling over and accepting a pointless loss, they instead managed to extend the match into the sixth minute of added time and the converted try they plundered through sub hooker Stephen Smyth earned them a two-point reward – a four-try bonus and another for losing by seven or less.
That was an excellent outcome given the circumstances of a contest where the battle of inches second period was very different to the ebb and flow of the first.
Just over five minutes was all the Irish needed to open the scoring, with Gunne burrowing over the try line, but their play was far from polished and a knock-on from Josh Ericson at the restart was punished by Erich Cronje’s converted try from the resulting scrum.
An Alex Usanov offside then allowed Chris Smith to add penalty points, but the pendulum soon swung with Ericson bursting a cavernous dent in the Lions defence and Gunne running the support line to score the 14th-minute converted try.
Tommy O’Brien nearly acrobatically added a score four minutes later, only to dive on the ball in touch, and the momentum then shifted back to the hosts on 24 minutes when Henco van Wyk tested the cover with a first-phase strike play off scrum ball and the move ended with Cronje, who also had an acrobatic try-cancelling moment, breezing in.
That made it 17-12 to the Lions, but this lead evaporated in the 39th minute. Leinster had earlier seen Hugh Cooney tackled into touch when threatening a score, but there was no intervention to deny them when Caspar Gabriel attacked off a lineout move and gave the assist to the supporting Gunne to complete his hat-trick.
Ahead 19-17, Leinster were in a promising spot, but they lost their way in the second half with the conditions and the pressure applied by the Lions eventually telling. The mischief-making Cronje getting over the ball at a ruck after an O’Brien catch allowed Smith to kick the lead-taking penalty on the hour.
Then, with debut-making sub Dylan McNeice carded on 72 minutes for not retreating 10 metres at a quick tap, the space this created was exploited by Smith’s crossfield kick to the unmarked Mpeku.
That appeared to be that, an eight-point win for the Lions, but belligerent Leinster had other ideas, claiming their two bonus points after sub Lions prop SJ Kotze was binned after a high tackle on Harry Byrne.
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Gunne shots fired
The Leinster player who generated the most conversation heading into this new season was Gabriel, their left-footed out-half with an Austrian background.
There was one frustrating moment when he kicked an early halfway restart over the dead-ball line, but the 20-year-old showed some genuine glimpses of his potential during his 51-minute involvement, especially when running the strike play line to set up his team’s third try.
However, this fixation on Gabriel is misleading in the sense that Leinster have plenty of cover at No.10 despite Ciaran Frawley’s exit to Connacht – Harry Byrne came on as the sub at Ellis Park but disappointingly didn’t wield a winning influence.
Instead, the priority position to nurture fresh talent is scrum-half. Veteran Luke McGrath is now in France and no longer the back-up behind the clear No.1 choice Jamison Gibson-Park, so there is a chasm to fill, but the 23-year-old Gunne definitely put his hand up in this URC opener to suggest he can be Gibson-Park’s successor.
His speed of pass was promising, but his eye for the try line was what stole the show. To score a hat-trick with just 39 minutes played was sweet, following up a close-range carry at the line with two excellent support lines to score off Ericson and Gabriel breaks.
What followed in the second half was a different type of contribution with the Leinster pack on the back foot, but he will have learned much about game management in what unfolded, learning that will stand to him.
Lions roar
You can’t help but like what Ivan van Rooyen is achieving with his improving Lions. He was candid in the build-up that his team was “schooled a little but” in last season’s quarter-final at Leinster.
However, they will delight in getting this win back at the champions, even though it came with a sting of the opposition having banked two match points in the last play.
Having stuttered for quite some time to get some consistency in their game, the Lions are now expertly led by Francke Horn, and he has some willing lieutenants to generously help out.
One aspect of play that eventually counted against the South African side last season was some porous defence when the pressure was at its highest, but they will be pleased with some penalty-winning turnovers in this opening round outing, suggesting they are now tuned into the need to work harder when defending their line.
Horn, of course, topped their tackle chart, but Bathobele Hlekani and Etienne Oosthuizen also featured brightly. Further encouragement came from their wings Cronje and Mpeku, who accounted for their three tries.
This ambition to get the ball to the edge is easy on the eye, and with Smith at 10 again exhibiting good decision-making, Saturday’s performance suggests Ellis Park will remain a very difficult place for teams to go this season.
Porter at tighthead
While the majority of the Leinster emphasis was on the rookies, there was an important focus on one member of their old guard, the fit-again loosehead Andrew Porter.
Injuries have been a frustration for the 30-year-old front-rower, so it was good from an Irish perspective to see him on the park in South Africa.
What intrigued, however, was his selection as tighthead with Tadhg Furlong and Thomas Clarkson off-limits due to their involvement in Ireland’s Nations Championship tour in July.
Not since May 2021 had Porter started for Leinster with the No.3 shirt on his back, but taking on the Lions in their backyard was as good a pace as any to check if he still has what it takes to put in a scrummaging shift in this position.
A penalty win on Alex Usanov’s side at the first scrum was the catalyst for the pressure that led to Leinster’s opening try, but the Lions were enjoying scrum penalty advantage from the second scrum when they struck for their first try.
Of the scrums that followed involving Porter before his 68th-minute substitution, a penalty and a free were awarded to Leinster, and it was interesting that the visitors conceded a penalty at the first scrum after the Test prop’s exit.
Away from the set-piece, Porter’s contribution was muted, but his presence in the scrum was helpful to ensure Leinster weren’t overwhelmed by what the Lions had to offer in his department.
Ellis Park footage
It was earlier this week when Jacques Nienaber, the ex-Springboks boss, described the Lions as a force to be reckoned with. Six successive Ellis Park victories earlier this year had swept them into the URC play-offs for the first time, and having since come within a whisker of ambushing the All Blacks at the same ground during the Greatest Rivalry tour, the visiting Leinster senior coach certainly knew a tough challenge was in store.
The pity about what materialised – a deserved win for the home side – was the optics of the TV footage. For whatever reason, Lions attendances in Johannesburg are very sparse.
However, rather than changing the position of the TV gantry for these poorly attended club matches at the 62,567-capacity stadium, viewers were once more shown the action facing across to the completely nearly empty stand running along the far touchline.
There surely needs to be a discussion about setting up the main camera position in this deserted stand and facing towards the stand where nearly all the fans who turned up were sitting. That would provide a far better backdrop to the action and highlight that the Lions do indeed have some fans who really love their rugby.
Of course, resources might be thin on the ground to make this happen. Look, for instance, at the paint peeling on the walls when footage of the coaches in their boxes was shown. That example suggests that funding might be in short supply, but changing the view for the TV audience would have great merit and would make Ellis Park look like a busier stadium.