Lions sink Pau in inclement weather

Today at 01:55 PM

MATCH REPORT: The Lions kept their Challenge Cup hopes alive with a convincing 43-35 victory over Pau in a stop-start affair due to inclement weather at Ellis Park.

The match started positively for the home side after the kick-off was dropped which the Lions pounced on, but couldn't convert into points.

The Lions had a kickable penalty but opted to go with the five-metre attacking scrum, only to concede the penalty on their own feed.

Both sides had opportunities in each other's half, but it was Pau who got on the scoreboard first through Dan Jooste in the 10th minute after a linebreak from inside the visitors half which flyhalf Desperes converted.

The Lions quickly struck back two minutes later after a break down the blindside by Springbok wing Edwill van der Merwe as Wolhuter levelled matters with his conversion.

Pau flyhalf Axel Desperes took the lead back with a successful penalty-goal in the 16th minute and soon after the double whammy came when Wolhuter kicked the restart out on the full.

The Lions, however, regained the lead in the 21st minute when Morné van den Berg dotted down for the hosts following a set-piece lineout move, but a Desperes penalty cut the lead back to a solitary point in the 24th minute.

Pau took the lead moments before the break through a successful penalty after the Lions were deemed to be offside, but the home side ensured they go into the sheds with the lead as PJ Botha dotted down from a rolling maul on the stroke of half-time.

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Pau started the second-half the more composed and structured of the two sides - coming close twice to scoring within the opening five minutes of the second stanza.

They did get on the scoreboard after Wolhuter knocked a pass on without any pressure on him inside his 22 metre area, which Pau launched an attacking move from as Desperes went down the blindside to score in the corner before converting his own try in the 45th minute.

The game took a twist when the Lions were sharp on attack and wing Gregoire Arfeuil was called out and sin-binned for a deliberate knock-down in the 47th minute.

Moments later loose forward Lekima Tagitagivalu also got a spot on the naughty chair for illegally collapsing the Lions' maul which led to a penalty try in the process as well that saw the hosts regain the lead once again.

The Lions made full use of their extra player advantage when multiple set of hands led to Juan Schoeman go in under the posts for the bonus-point try in the 54th minute which Wolhuter converted.

Following Wolhuter's conversion, the match was called to a halt due to inclement weather before play resumed later on.

The Lions extended their lead when they kept sustained pressure on Pau and Ruben Schoeman got over the line which Wolhuter converted in the 61st minute.

The visitors managed to stay in touch after a successful rolling maul saw them cross the whitewash through replacement Romain Ruffenach.

Wolhuter added another penalty in the 70th minute to extend the Lions' lead to 15 points but a breakout by the visitors saw the Lions scramble back on defence and Mafura yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle in the 72nd minute.

Pau managed to score their fourth try to secure a bonus-point through replacement Josselin Bouhier in the 75th minute but the Lions did enough to earn a hard-fought win.

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Scorers

For the Lions:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Van den Berg, Botha, J Schoeman, R Schoeman, Penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Wolhuter 4
Pen: Wolhuter

For Section Paloise:
Tries: Jooste, Desperes 2, Bouhier,
Cons: Desperes 2
Pens: Desperes 3

Yellow cards: Gregoire Arfeuil (Section Paloise: Cynical - deliberate knock-on 47'), Lekima Tagitagivalu (Section Paloise: Cynical - illegally collapsing a maul 49'), Tapiwa Mafura (Lions: Dangerous tackle 72').

Teams

Lions: 15. Tapiwa Mafura, 14. Rabz Maxwane, 13. Erich Cronje, 12. Marius Louw (captain), 11. Edwill van der Merwe, 10. Sam Francis, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Francke Horn, 7. WJ Steenkamp, 6. Jarod Cairns, 5. Reinhard Nothnagel, 4. Ruben Schoeman, 3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2. PJ Botha, 1. Juan Schoeman
Replacements: 16. Jaco Visagie, 17. SJ Kotze, 18. RF Schoeman, 19. Ruan Delport, 20. JC Pretorius, 21. Nico Steyn, 22. Kade Wolhuter, 23. Manuel Rass

Section Paloise: 15. Clément Mondinat, 14. Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, 13. Olivier Klemenczak, 12. Eliott Roudil (captain), 11. Gregoire Arfeuil, 10. Axel Desperes, 9. Thomas Souverbie, 8. Thibaut Hamonou, 7. Mehdi Tlili, 6. Lekima Tagitagivalu, 5. Jimi Maximin, 4. Remi Picquette, 3. Guram Papidze, 2. Dan Jooste, 1. Remi Seneca,
Replacements:16. Romain Ruffenach, 17. Daniel Bibi Biziwu, 18. Alexandre Etchebehere, 19. Joel Kpoku, 20. Victor Templier, 21. Josselin Bouhier, 22. Quentin Valentino, 23. Aymeric Luc

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, John Meredith
TMO: Dean Richards