Emirates Lions kick off with loss

2020-02-28

The Emirates Lions could not kick off their tour of Australasia on a winning note as they went down 29-17 to the Waratahs in the Bankwest Stadium in Paramatta on Friday night.

The home-side was like a house on fire in their opening minutes, scoring in the sixth and rattled the visitors to the core initially.

Coming into this encounter, the Waratahs were on a five-game losing streak against the Lions, dating back to 2015, and a three-game losing run this season.

The Lions’ defensive line were pierced with relative ease by the Waratahs in the first half. Notably, the clock had not even struck the 20-minute mark and the Waratahs found themselves 19-3 up courtesy of three stunning tries by forwards Angus Bell, Lachlan Swinton and Jack Dempsey.

The Lions though, were not only hamstrung by feeble defence. All their attacking plays were curtailed by questionable decision-making and unforced errors, while ill-discipline also played a part. Lock Ruben Schoeman received a yellow card as early as the ninth minute for punching Waratahs captain Rob Simmons at the side of a ruck.

It was through sheer petulance on the part of Waratahs flank Swinton, that the Lions got close to the tryline for their first score. Swinton’s late, off-the-ball shoulder charge on Lions captain Elton Jantjies earned him a similar fate as Schoeman.

From the resultant penalty, Jantjies hit an excellent touch-finder. But as they prepared to take the attacking lineup, Jantjies was ordered to go for a head injury assessment, much to his chagrin. The skipper admitted during the post-match press conference that he did not want to leave his troop without a leader.

But his side made inroads into the Waratahs defence as they produced an unstoppable lineout drive from which Marnus Schoeman powered over to dot down for a 19-10 scoreline at the break.

"We are growing as a group but we won't take that as an excuse. We just have to keep on doing what we are doing. The Waratahs had a decisive start," Jantjies said.

Marnus Schoeman had an easy run-in for his second try. But it mattered little in the context of the game, as the Waratahs would score late in the match to secure a try bonus-point for themselves and take away the losing bonus-point from the Lions.

Waratahs – Tries: Angus Bell, Lachlan Swinton, Jack Dempsey, James Ramm, Tetera Daulkner. Conversions: Will Harrison (2).
Lions – Tries: Marnus Schoeman (2). Conversion: Andries Coetzee, Elton Jantjies (2). Penalty: Jantjies

Annemie Bester