Lions v Ospreys: Five takeaways as hosts’ captain ‘leads from the front’ while ‘toothless’ visitors disappoint again
Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards (inset) and Lions number eight Francke Horn.
Following the Lions’ 35-19 win over the Ospreys in their United Rugby Championship (URC) clash at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out our five takeaways from the thrilling action.
The top line
The opening exchanges were cagey but the Lions were slowly gaining the upper hand and they eventually opened the scoring in the 11th minute courtesy of a penalty from Chris Smith.
The next 15 minutes was an arm wrestle as the sides battled to gain the ascendancy, but the home side eventually increased their lead when Erich Cronje scored the opening try after Ethan Adams laid the groundwork with a barnstorming run in the build-up.
The Ospreys needed a response if they wanted something from this match and turned things around in the latter stages of the half when Keiran Williams and Efan Daniel scored well-taken tries.
Dan Edwards succeeded with one conversion which meant the match was evenly poised as the Welsh region held a slender 12-10 lead at half-time.
The second half started brightly for the Lions as their efforts were rewarded with tries in quick succession from PJ Botha and Morne Brandon.
Smith was off target with both conversion attempts, but the Lions did not have to wait long to secure their bonus point as Boeta Chamberlain then went over for their fourth try after 57 minutes.
It was one-way traffic after that as the Lions stayed true to their attacking roots and Kelly Mpeku soon crossed for back-to-back tries which meant they held a comfortable 35-12 lead by the 66th minute.
The rest of the half was frantic as both sides gave the ball plenty of air and the Ospreys’ efforts were eventually rewarded in the game’s closing stages when Ross Moriarty scored a consolation try.
Francke Horn leads from the front
Although this was a fantastic team effort from the home side, their captain Horn deserves plenty of credit as he led from the front with an excellent all-round performance.
The number eight was in the thick of the action throughout and got through plenty of work either side of the ball.
Although he did not score a try, the 27-year-old gained 36 metres on attack, beating three defenders and he also delivered a delightful offload out of the back of his hand to Chamberlain, who crossed for his try.
Horn also showed his class on defence where he won three crucial turnovers, which was a match-high, while also winning his fair share of possession in the lineouts.
It came as no surprise that Horn’s efforts were rewarded with the official man-of-the-match award after the game.
Yellow card proves costly for Ospreys
The Welsh region were reduced to 14 men in the 62nd minute when Edwards was yellow carded for a head-high tackle on Ruan Delport and the hosts made full use of their numerical advantage as they were dominant during the next 10 minutes.
Immediately after Edwards’ departure, the home side launched an attack inside the Ospreys’ 22 and Smith delivered a cross-field kick which Mpeku gathered before crossing the whitewash.
Three minutes later, the Lions took the ball through several phases and there was great interplay between forwards and backs before Mpeku found himself in space out wide and he had an easy run-in for his seconds try.
Although Smith and Chamberlain were unsuccessful with both conversion attempts, those two tries in quick succession knocked the wind out of the visitors’ sails and it ultimately secured the victory for the Lions.
Lions teenager catches the eye
There was plenty of talk amongst Lions supporters, in the build-up to this encounter, after head coach Ivan van Rooyen confirmed that young midfielder Ethan Adams would make his first start for them after an impressive cameo in his debut during the latter stages of last weekend’s win over Leinster.
The 19-year-old is highly rated in South Africa after shining for the country’s U20 side during their triumphant campaign at the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia earlier this year.
Nicknamed ‘The Tank’, the burly outside centre continued where he left off against Leinster as he took the fight to the Ospreys with some fine attacking runs during an impressive 80-minute stint.
Adams finished with a match-high 55 metres gained, from eight carries which included one clean break, a defender beaten and he also won a turnover to complete a fine all-round display.
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Ospreys’ second half capitulation concerning
The visitors will do plenty of soul searching after this result as it means they finish their South African tour winless as they also lost their tournament opener against the Sharks last weekend.
Although the Lions held a 10-0 lead by the 28th minute, the Ospreys delivered a competitive performance during that period and came back strongly during the latter part of the half and were rewarded with Williams and Daniel’s five-pointers.
That gave them a narrow lead at the interval but instead of kicking on, the men from Swansea delivered a toothless display which allowed the Lions to take control of proceedings.
There was little enterprising play after half-time from the visitors and they committed a plethora of unforced errors which helped the Lions’ cause.