Staff Reporter.
The Emirates Lions roared loudly into the Johannesburg sky as they scored their third straight home win in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship to down the Ospreys 45-15 at Emirates Airline Park on Friday night.
The result extended the Lions’ current streak to three wins on the trot in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and the growing confidence was evident in flurries of optimistic offloads that often went to hand.
The verve of tries scored by wingers Rabz Maxwane and Edwill van der Merwe was matched by the Lions’ commitment to accelerating the tempo of the contest to challenge their Welsh counterparts to cope with the thin Highveld air.
The Lions scored their third try of the match for Hendrikse to convert three minutes after the restart, Francke Horn crashing over to finish off an enterprising passage of play, highlighted by sharp offloads between forwards and backs.
Ospreys hit back with a seven-pointer when skipper Rhys Webb barged his way next to the right upright, but the hosts hit back as Van den Berg soared over for the Lions’ bonus-point try on the counterattack.
Van der Merwe and Manuel Rass then showed their try-scoring prowess, before Andre Warner notched his name onto the scoreboard after more cohesive work from the home side to cap off a dominant victory for Ivan van Rooyen’s men.
The result extended the Lions’ current streak to three wins on the trot in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and the growing confidence was evident in flurries of optimistic offloads that often went to hand.
The verve of tries scored by wingers Rabz Maxwane and Edwill van der Merwe was matched by the Lions’ commitment to accelerating the tempo of the contest to challenge their Welsh counterparts to cope with the thin Highveld air.
The Lions scored their third try of the match for Hendrikse to convert three minutes after the restart, Francke Horn crashing over to finish off an enterprising passage of play, highlighted by sharp offloads between forwards and backs.
Ospreys hit back with a seven-pointer when skipper Rhys Webb barged his way next to the right upright, but the hosts hit back as Van den Berg soared over for the Lions’ bonus-point try on the counterattack.
Van der Merwe and Manuel Rass then showed their try-scoring prowess, before Andre Warner notched his name onto the scoreboard after more cohesive work from the home side to cap off a dominant victory for Ivan van Rooyen’s men.
Scorers
Emirates Lions – tries: Rabs Maxwane, Morne van den Berg (2), Francke Horn, Mannie Rass, Edwill van der Merwe, Andre Warner. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (5).
Ospreys – tries: Rhys Webb, Michael Collins. Conversion: Josh Thomas. Penalty: Thomas.