Francke Horn of the Emirates Lions takes on Stormers defenders. File Picture: Steve Haag, INPHO, Shutterstock via BackpagePix (13547472l)
Leighton Koopman
It was a game of two halves between the Lions and Stormers, but the Johannesburg side was happy to walk away with the spoils after a tense ending to the encounter on Saturday afternoon.
They won 30-23 at Ellis Park, breaking their duck at home against the Capetonians in the United Rugby Championship.
Although they have two games in hand, including some tough local derbies against the Bulls and Sharks, the Lions still find themselves below all the South African sides, one point behind the Stormers on the points log.
If they denied the Cape outfit a losing point at the death and scored the fourth try for the bonus point, they would've snuck past their opponents and ended the weekend as the third-best-placed local side.
They scored three brilliant tries in the first half that reminded of that typical Lions running rugby, but in the second 40 they fell off the wagon and the Stormers dominated proceedings.
𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 | Emirates Lions 30 – 23 DHL Stormers
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) February 15, 2025
Back to winning ways…#LIOvSTO #ForOurCity@vodacom #URC | #HitsDifferent
#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/tzaYnNargE
While the win would mean a lot to the hosts, missing that fourth try when they had the ascendency could come back to bite them at a later stage.
“I don't think we got the second half wrong,” head coach Ivan van Rooyen said.
“The momentum and rhythm of the game was like that. We had some good attacking opportunities in the second part of the first half and used it.
“The Stormers, the way they selected, wanted to open up the game. The defensive penalties from us were too many and they pinned us down. From that, they get momentum and energy. But our defensive effort was huge.
“Our set-piece was good today and we know we have an exciting backline. When they get front-foot possession and they start playing, they are really exciting.”
Lions captain Francke Horn said their decision to kick for points when getting penalties paid off in the end.
They slotted three penalties when they had the opportunity to attack the Stormers, but the buffer they built through the conversions allowed them to enjoy some breathing space on the scoreboard.
He says they might've not scored if they went for touch instead of the points.
“We won by seven points if we went to the corner and didn't get points, we would not have had that 10-point lead in the last five minutes,” Horn said.
“Because we had those points, we were safe, especially in the final stages of the game.”
Stormers director of rugby John Dobson says they turned over too much ball possession throughout the match.
“We did all the playing, but were just too loose with the ball in hand,” he lamented their errors.
“The Lions punished us for it. If you make those errors against a team that is brilliant in the transition and turnovers. Those tries in the first half had the Lions' stamp on them. We knew about it and we didn't stop it.
“I knew our bench would come back, but we just ran out of time and the gap was a little bit big. When they were down to 14, I thought we had them on the ropes.
“But our decision-making let us down.”